WAKEcup and smell the coffee

The Palm Oil Dilemma

Episode Summary

Do you eat chocolate, clean your teeth with toothpaste or perhaps put a bit of lipstick on for a night out? If so you’re part of the great palm oil debate - Tom and Lizzie venture into a murky and complex world...

Episode Notes

Do you eat chocolate, clean your teeth after with toothpaste or perhaps put a bit of lipstick on for a night out? If so you’re part of the great palm oil debate, as this widespread ingredient is in all those products and thousands more.,
A WWF report described the palm oil industry as a disaster for global biodiversity and found that 193 species on the endangered list including orang-utans, gibbons and tigers were suffering severe harm by deforestation and habitat loss caused directly by the Palm Oil Industry. Tom and Lizzie delve into the murky world of oil production in South East Asia and discover things aren’t as clear cut as you may think, revealing how the alternatives would use up to 10 time more land to product the same oil yield and how the industry raises 100’s of thousands of people out of extreme poverty each year . Sustainable Palm Oil initiatives such as those in the Gabon could be the answer to an issue that affects everyone, whilst acknowledging there’s no magic bullet as yet.

From Global WakeCup and produced by Events in Sound