AliciaLinPalmOil

= **Banning Trans Fats Kills Orangutans** =

Image on the right: "Orangutan." The Duckweed Lady. Web. 31 Mar 2010. .

**What are trans fats?** Trans fats, also known as trans fatty acids, are created in a process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils in order to make them more solid. Trans fats are labeled as “partially hydrogenated oils" on food ingredient lists. [[|1]]

Trans fats are bad because they lower good cholesterol levels, HDL, and raise bad cholesterol levels, LDL. Eating a diet full of trans fats can increase a person’s risk of developing heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. [[|1]]
 * Why is it so bad?**

Food contain trans fats because they’re good for frying, easy to use, last a long time and inexpensive to produce. [[|1]]
 * Why do foods contain trans fats?**

Foods such as donuts, baked goods, cookies, crackers, margarine, and ramen contain trans fats. [[|1]]
 * What foods contain trans fats?**

New York City banned trans fats in food service establishments, and ever since the USDA required food manufacturers to label their use of trans fats, food related industries have been trying to find a replacement for trans fats.
 * A Move Away From Trans Fats**

Instead of using partially hydrogenated oils, manufacturers have been eagerly using palm oil because of its ability to remain semi-solid at room temperature. [[|2]]
 * The Replacement: Palm Oil**

Palm oil seems like a great alternative to hydrogenated oils; however, the problem with palm oil is that most of it comes from Malaysia and Indonesia, they are the world’s largest producers and exporters of palm oil and own 84% and 90% of the share of world palm oil production and export, respectively. [3]
 * Source of Palm Oil**

Getting our palm oils from these countries have dire ecological consequences. Orangutans lose their home to palm oil plantations, and are forced to eat young palm plants in order to survive. Plantation workers view these orangutans as pests, and kill them to protect their crops. [[|4]] “According to the Centre for Orang-utan Protection, at least 1,500 orang-utans died in 2006 as a result of deliberate attacks by plantation workers and loss of habitat due to the expansion of oil palm plantations.” [[|4]] It’s important to protect these creatures because the Sumatran Orangutan is critically endangered, and at least half of the world’s wild orangutans have disappeared in the last 20 years, and 80 percent of the orangutan habitat has either been depopulated or totally destroyed. [[|5]]
 * Destroying the Orangutans Habitat**

In general, palm oil is not that much better for people than hydrogenated oil. Palm oil is high in saturated fat, which raises blood cholesterol the most. [[|6]] It is also more far more harmful than such liquid oils as olive, soy, and canola. [[|5]]
 * Not as good as you may think**

With the rising demand for palm oil, it is estimated that our demand for palm oil can double by 2030 and triple by 2050. [[|4]] This idea is startling because already, Indonesia has the fastest deforestation rate of any major forested country in the world. [[|4]] Deforestation of Indonesia’s tropical forests makes it the third largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world after China and the USA. [[|4]] Already, 74 million hectares of Indonesia’s forest, which is more than twice the size of Germany, has been logged, burned or degraded. [[|4]]
 * Sustainability Issue**

Additionally, deforestation is a threat to wildlife. “Of the more than 400 land mammal species of Indonesia, 15 are critically endangered and another 125 threatened. Of Malaysia’s nearly 300 land mammal species, 6 are critically endangered and 41 threatened.” [7] Deforestation destroys their habitats as well as hinder animal’s migration habits. Also, the roads and plantations fragment the forest which make animals more vulnerable to illegal hunting and poaching. [7]

In general, plantations pollute the water and soil and cause soil erosion because of their use of pesticides and from the run off of palm oil-mill. [7]

There are ways you can fix this problem that are within reach. First, just by knowing that this problem exists makes you a more knowledgeable shopper, so when you see advertisements for “Trans Fat” free chips and cookies, check the ingredients first to see whether they use palm oil. Also, letting companies, like Nestle or General Mills, know that this is an issue for consumers by signing petitions is another way to fix this problem.
 * Fix It**

**TAKE ACTION NOW!** Click [|here] to tell Nestlé to stop using palm oil.


 * Related Links **
 * **[|Greenpeace Report Links Nestlé to Rainforest Destruction]**
 * **[|Trans Fats]**
 * **[|Caught Red Handed]**
 * **[|Palm Oil: A Rainforest in your Shopping]**
 * **[|Dying for a Cookie: Seemingless Harmless Foods that Aren't]**


 * For the Complete Bibliography, click here.**