Just a while ago, I was surfing the National Geographic website and I found something that upset me again.  I didn’t know that palm oil’s presence in my way of life is so pervasive. I already gave up three things, now I have to give up my cookies!  (For the majority of people in the Philippines who are suffering from rice shortage, this must really be a laughable kind of angst! I think so too. What else is a housewife with limited exposure to the world supposed to rant and rave about?! )  

My son is going to be very disappointed when I tell him that we have to stop buying Oreos because they use palm oil, but he would definitely understand if I explain to him that people in Indonesia are cutting down forests to make way for the palm oil being used in his cookies. He’ll be outraged when he hears that Sumatran Rhinos, which are endangered, might be soon become extinct because of these events.  Rhinos are his favorite animal.  Whenever we go to the library he only borrows books about rhinos. I have learned so many things about them because he makes me read those books to him before we sleep at night. Just this Sunday I bought a box of pecan cookies from Keebler.  And Pepperidge Farm is another culprit! I can’t believe it.  That’s my trusted brand!  Their cookies are superior to anything else on the supermarket shelves. I buy them when I feel generous with myself.  Why do you have to take them away from me!!!!  I hate you palm oil!  

I think we have to write some more letters. If you want to feel empowered, click this link:http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/int/palmoil 

I’m talking about Dove the beauty product brand from Unilever. Never thought that beauty could come at such a terrible price.  I have decided to stop using Dove soaps and shampoos. In fact I will ban all Unilever products from my household.  What you think ’bout that corporate giant?  And I will tell everybody I can get hold of to do the same thing.  

I came upon the Greenpeace Southeast Asia website when I was researching some stuff for my son who wants to be a conservationist. They pointed out that Unilever is the largest consumer of palm oil in the world. It gets its supply from Indonesia, where they destroy millions of hectares of tropical rainforests  to make way for plantations. The news hit me hard.  My pediatrician recommended the soap when my baby  was a week old.  I better tell him about this.  I am a loyal Dove consumer. “Trusted brand ko na ito.” All this time I never knew that I was financing the demise of  large tracts of wildlife habitats and contributing to global warming!  Shame on me! Shame on you Unilever!  

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/forests/asia-pacific/dove-palmoil-action

What now?   What to do?  What to do?  Make a personal letter to the following people below: patrick.cescau@unilever.com, Kees.Vandergraaf@unilever.com, ralph.kugler@unilever.com, lettemieke.mulder@unilever.com, jan-kees.vis@unilever.com, doveaction@greenpeace.org

Letter-writing doesn’t sound like a very impressive action on our part, right? Well, it’s better than nothing.