In a triumph for the mindless, Cadbury has stopped using palm oil in its confectionarys.
In recent years Palm oil has become the most prevalent vegetable oil on the market. The reasons why are economic, the African Oil Palm, Elaeis guineensis produces more vegetable oil per hectare than any other known species.
This has been a boon to the poor of Indonesia and Malaysia, a cash crop with a huge international demand and an opportunity to earn an honest living.
Needless to say over privileged westerners are none too pleased that the poor of these nations have an opportunity to better themselves and so begins a concerted campaign against Palm Oil. You will not be surprised to learn that the palm oil industry is apparently Greenhouse Gas emitter for example. Nor that it is responsible for the needless deaths of cuddly orangutans.
The trouble is with these environmental noisemakers is that they have no concept of life on the margins, of going to bed hungry and watching your children die of preventable and easily curable diseases.
They have been spoiled rotten their whole lives and are quite willing to blot out the harsh facts of life for the worlds poor by watching nature shows on their High definition plasma TVs all the while lamenting mankind's greed (other ignorant people, not themselves of course) for creating farms to feed themselves and their families.
And if that isn't hypocrisy I don't know what is.
In recent years Palm oil has become the most prevalent vegetable oil on the market. The reasons why are economic, the African Oil Palm, Elaeis guineensis produces more vegetable oil per hectare than any other known species.
This has been a boon to the poor of Indonesia and Malaysia, a cash crop with a huge international demand and an opportunity to earn an honest living.
Needless to say over privileged westerners are none too pleased that the poor of these nations have an opportunity to better themselves and so begins a concerted campaign against Palm Oil. You will not be surprised to learn that the palm oil industry is apparently Greenhouse Gas emitter for example. Nor that it is responsible for the needless deaths of cuddly orangutans.
The trouble is with these environmental noisemakers is that they have no concept of life on the margins, of going to bed hungry and watching your children die of preventable and easily curable diseases.
They have been spoiled rotten their whole lives and are quite willing to blot out the harsh facts of life for the worlds poor by watching nature shows on their High definition plasma TVs all the while lamenting mankind's greed (other ignorant people, not themselves of course) for creating farms to feed themselves and their families.
And if that isn't hypocrisy I don't know what is.