Over the past months, we’ve been working on a report profiling Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK), one of the most notorious producers of Conflict Palm Oil on the planet. We knew when we started that KLK’s practices were devastating, but nothing could have prepared us for what we uncovered. Today we released a report profiling four cases of KLK’s Conflict Palm Oil production, including:
- KLK’s expansion plans into the ancestral lands of tribal groups in a remote area of Papua New Guinea without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
- KLK’s use of child labor and forced labor on two plantations in Indonesia.
- On-going deforestation on two KLK plantations in Indonesia.
- Expansion by KLK’s newly acquired Equatorial Palm Oil onto traditional farming lands of local communities in Liberia in violation of their Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
The sheer magnitude of the abuse that KLK has engaged in is shocking. And unfortunately, due to the murky world of palm oil traders and suppliers, KLK is able to continue to operate with absolute impunity while major traders like Cargill continue to purchase the palm oil it produces to sell to food manufacturers in the United States and around the world. As long as Cargill continues to purchase Conflict Palm Oil, no questions asked, from reprehensible companies like KLK, KLK and its peers have absolutely no motivation to change. Why stop using child labor or stealing land when nobody is holding them accountable? This has to change, and it will with your help. Cargill needs to implement a responsible palm oil sourcing policy that blacklists any company that produces Conflict Palm Oil and engages in horrific human rights and environmental abuses immediately.
Time is running out. Cargill is lagging behind other traders that have realized that business as usual is no longer tenable.
You can read the full report here, but before you do, please send your message to Cargill. It’s crucial that Cargill hears from you.