Thursday 11 August 2011

You've probably realised ....

... that I haven't posted here in a while.

I get lots of e-mails about this blog. People ask me "is it Ok to eat *****". The answer is that unless I eat it, I don't know. Ask yourselves these questions:


  • Does it has vegetable oil in the ingredients list? If yes, odds are it contains palm oil.


  • Does it have any of the ingredients listed in my list to the left? Then it probably does contain palm oil but some on the list are derived from other sources as well.

  • The best thing you can do is to write to the company yourself. I've stopped publicising my actions here because I realised I am actually stopping others from writing their own letters. The only thing that will stop manufacturers putting palm oil in their products is if enough of their purchasers say "ENOUGH". One letter from me on behalf of everyone else isn't going to do it.

    I have realised, I am writing the letters for all the other lazy f**k**s out there who can't be bothered to write their own letters. PLEASE tell manufacturers you don't want to buy products with palm oil in them. I'm not going to vet everything you want to buy - ask the questions yourselves.

    Too many people expect others to do the work for them, it's what's wrong with society and why we've got all these riots, please people, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS. IF YOU BUY PRODUCTS WITH PALM OIL IN THEM, RAIN FOREST WILL DISAPPEAR, ORANGUTANS WILL DIE, OTHER WILDLIFE AND INDIGINOUS PEOPLES WILL SUFFER.

    We really, as a race, deserve all we get.

    I am posting this for my regular readers to realise why, in a couple of weeks, I will be removing this blog. I don't think I'm helping, I'm actually giving people an excuse not to do anything themselves.

    9 comments:

    1. Hi Sue, I just came across your blog today via Kev's Climate Column (which I also came across today). And I thought I was the only one horrified by all the palm oil in all the products out there! Your list on the left is a total eye-opener, I had no they could all be palm-oil derived.

      I totally get your reasoning but please don't remove your blog! I hear your frustrations but for every one person not taking action there will be plenty of others who will see your posts and maybe feel inspired to. We need this kind of presence and inspiration on the internet. It takes time but slowly slowly it seeps out of the minds of those with natural eco-inclinations and into the general consciousness. And when they see one person taking action it inspires them to do so and take a stand as well (unrelated but for example think of the wall of peace post-it notes following the riots).

      Thank you for all the work you've done so far, and I hope you reconsider your decision! I for one will taking up the palm oil challenge!

      Best wishes
      Monica

      ReplyDelete
    2. I second that comment!!

      I have only just found this blog, and am anxious to read it's contents as I am very interested in this type of issue.

      Please don't remove the blog. If you don't feel that it helps to blog regularly, then simply don't post in it anymore.

      But please leave it up for people to read and stumble across in the future (like me!) - I'm sure the information contained within it is very interesting and needs to be in the public eye.

      Don't give up trying to change people's minds either. Not everyone is lazy or unwilling to take responsibility for things.

      ReplyDelete
    3. Please don't go away. You have no idea how many people I've referred toward your list and how many people you've educated. If you need/want help coming up with a template you can post to refer people who don't know where to start, let us know. Some people are lazy, but some people have never asked a company anything about anything before. They're not good with words, or the web, or any number of reasons. You're doing a good thing. Don't let the turkeys get you down.

      ReplyDelete
    4. Hello Sue, Ive just accidentally came across your blog on palm oil and I agree totally agree with you when you say the human race gets what it deserves. Not enough people are aware of the effects of us insisting on using palm oil, and bumble along oblivious to the devastation they are contributing to, but what I find unbelievable and totally mindblowing is the amount of people who ARE aware and yet still choose to carry on regardless.
      Please do not remove your blog, your making sense and in this f**ked up world we need more folk like you. ps Im in the process of ridding my home of this stuff and its not easy but I want my daughter to grow up in a palm oil free zone.
      kind regards
      Gaily

      ReplyDelete
    5. I agree with above comments. The palm oil issues have been in the back of my mind for a couple of years now, but I've been discouraged from checking labels because of the lack of clarity in the labelling. You're right: I should write to the manufacturers. Thank-you for keeping your blog live. People are more likely to adopt new behaviour when they see it modelled by someone else, and I think the example you set is more powerful if more people can see it.

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    6. PS: thank-you for the list. It's exactly what I need on the weekly shop.

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    7. I've just recently learned about the evils of palm oil. Fortunately, I eat very, very basic, non processed foods so I am pretty clear of that in the food department. Looks like I need to make sure my "natural" cleaning products are clear of the crap. Thanks for the information and please keep this blog up as I am eager to peruse it and learn more.

      ReplyDelete
    8. I agree that companies will never realise that someone is boycotting their product due to palm oil unless they are specifically told about it, in that sense it's right that you refuse to write on behalf of everyone else, but perhaps, if your still check the comments on your blog and see this, you could write a post with a standard letter upon which someone could just add their name and the name of the product, which either criticises their use of palm oil (or non sustainable palm oil) or asks them if they could clarify if their products contain palm oil. This way, those who are afraid of writing to companies, or are too busy/lazy to constantly write new letters can use the template and it might encourage them to write more letters, which will put more pressure on the companies. just an idea. I'd do it myself, but I dont have a blog

      ReplyDelete
    9. Hi there, I don't know if you're still checking this blog but I'm very glad that you decided not to take it down because I've found it very useful as a starting point and actually, it has given me the confidence to write e-mails to companies myself because I thought- 'well if someone else has the gumption to, why not me?' Anyway, I looked in to a company called 'Naked Bodycare' a couple of days ago. They're palm oil response is on their FAQ section and is pretty pathetic; essentially they say, 'Well everyone else is doing it.' Here's the link to the FAQ's http://www.nakedbodycare.co.uk/faqs

      I'm very dissapointed because they seem to be doing so much else well. I'll write and tell them so!

      Thanks for this Blog!

      ReplyDelete