Biting into an Oreo has never seemed like the cause of a crisis greater than an expanding waistline or a clogged artery. But, palm oil, a key ingredient in the creamy goodness of an Oreo, is an environmentally catastrophic ingredient. The rapidly expanding palm oil agribusiness is destroying rainforests, and with them, the habitat of endangered orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinoceros. Clearing forests and burning peat bogs to create more land for planting the crops that create palm oil has put Indonesia in the unenviable number three position in global carbon-emissions - only behind India and the United States.

Palm oil is used in 1 out of 10 products at your grocery store. Some of the products that use palm oil include Nabisco Triscuits, Pepperidge Farm cookies, Voortman Vanilla Wafers, Cadbury and Hershey's chocolate, Pringles, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Tom's toothpaste, Avon products, Dial soap and more. Impossible as it seems, a quick shop at the supermarket will have major consequences on the other side of the world.
Palm oil is the second most produced and internationally traded edible oil in the world, and 80% of all palm oil comes from Indonesia. Though Indonesia has environmental laws, local bureaucrats can be bribed to close their watchful eyes. With plans for plantation expansion from the current 16 million acres to almost 26 million by 2015, 98% of the country's forest will be degraded or gone by 2022 if agribusiness deforestation continues at its current rate. Nevertheless, it is difficult to convince the Indonesian government, and the international business community, to stop their short-sighted but highly profitable business.

Fortunately, there are several organizations working to change this. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is an international organization working to advance the production, procurement and use of sustainable oil palm products through the development, implementation and verification of environmental standards. Greenpeace, Rainforest Alliance and other conservation groups, as well as some corporations are becoming aware that unsustainable palm oil in products is a consumer concern, and are all taking action using everything from legislation to grassroots awareness campaigns.
As more consumers speak out, small companies have been the first to make changes. Small companies often lead the way because their size makes it easier for them to be nimble and responsive. However, with increasing public demand for change, larger corporations can eventually be expected to pressure palm oil suppliers to adopt more sustainable agriculture methods.

LUSH products, after learning about the disastrous effects that palm oil plantations are having on the environment and wildlife, immediately began experimenting with other products in an attempt to remove palm oil entirely from their product line. "Our buying team went to Indonesia to see the orangutans," explained Andrew Butler, LUSH Campaigns Manager. "We spoke with lots of environmental and human rights groups, and given the demand it was inevitable that we would face the destruction we now see from an unsustainable industry. It takes awhile to get it right but within the next few months we will have removed palm oil from our product line."

LUSH is not alone. Consumer pressure and corporate conscience have created a marked change in how materials are sourced by a variety of companies:
• The Body Shop works closely with human and animal rights groups and is a member of RSPO. "We use our influence to make a difference. Our palm oil supplier in Columbia is a local coop and entirely sustainable," states Shelley Simmons, Director of Values for the Body Shop.
• After a sustained Greenpeace campaign and consumer information drive by Greenpeace, Unilever, who uses 5% of the world's palm oil supplies, and chairs the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, has agreed to support a legal moratorium on rainforest destruction. Unilever has also agreed to put pressure on their suppliers in Indonesia to support the moratorium while building a coalition of the major industry leaders like Kraft, Proctor & Gamble, Cadbury and Nestle.
• Whole Foods Market has joined RAN in expressing concern for the unsustainable practice of the global palm oil industry and calling for change in the U.S. market. The largest organic retailer in the US has voiced its commitment to sourcing palm oil that does not contribute to destroying the world's remaining tropical rainforests displace communities or contribute to global climate change.
• Organic Valley, like many other soy milk producers, uses Vitamin A palmitate, which is derived from palm oil, to fortify their soy milk. "We have signed on with RAN and we are working with our suppliers to source from sustainable plantations. We want to use our influence and always look for improvements." explains Jennifer Johnson, spokesperson for Organic Valley.
• Antony Sanzio of Avon products states that Avon "recognizes that there is a connection between the success of the company and a commitment to environmental sustainability. Having heard about the concern in the marketplace, we are going to meet with our suppliers to better understand conditions." "Do you have a timeline to change to sustainable palm oil?" "Not yet, but we are members of RSPO and we would be happy to hear about sustainable companies to source from."

But many of the larger companies like Avon are relying on their membership in RSPO, which in its first 10 years has still not completed, nor even barely begun, its goal of sustainable palm oil certification. "RSPO is a step in the right direction but the actual certification is not up and running in the U.S." explains Jennifer Krill, Program Director of the RAN Palm Oil campaign. "And only 40% of suppliers are members with the rest using some of the worst of the worst practices."

Helen Buckland, UK Director of the Sumatran Orangutan Society, encourages consumers to take a more active role. "We don't just need donations for our conservation projects; we also need people to add their voice to our call for an end to forest destruction. Write to your elected representatives, asking them to push the Indonesian government to enact a moratorium on deforestation. Write to companies using palm oil in their products and ask them to make sure it comes from sustainable sources."

Can consumers really have any effect on large corporations? History says we can! We got the lead out of kids toys, toxins out of housepaint and pesticides. Perhaps Margaret Mead's words of encouragement apply to this issue. "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."