Dr. Oz Angers the Rainforest Action Network with Palm Oil Endorsement
By: Rosemina Nazarali
Published: January 21, 2013

On his January 3 episode, Dr. Oz spoke of the health benefits of Red Palm Fruit Oil, saying it might be his big find of 2013. However, not everyone agrees. The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) teamed up with Orangutan Outreach to create a petition asking Dr. Oz to retract his comments.
"Dr. Oz and his staff should have done more research before recommending palm oil. In doing so, he has inadvertently declared war on orangutans -- along with ever other living creature in the jungles of Borneo and Samatra!" Orangutan Outreach wrote on their website. 
Because of the production of palm oil in the Borneo and Sumatra forests, thousands of orangutans have lost their lives -- these two forests are the only two left on earth where orangutans now live. Orangutans may soon face extinction and both the RAN and Orangutan Outreach want to stop the production of palm oil to save what's left of the species.
To learn more about the palm oil issue, click here.

Comments:
RobShepherd
January 23, 2013

As usual, RAN is just telling half the story. The national sustainability strategies for these countries is to create palm oil plantations to reduce the burden on natural forests. To discuss this matter, you have to get into import and export standards; national and international laws for legality and traceability; sustainability policies and certifications; and auditing standards. You can't just say producing palm oil kills orangutans. What's worse, the standards these guys promote (FSC for wood and RSPO for palm oil) are the same one they're attacking. Dr. Oz is just another victim of their over-emotive,  over-simplified, self-serving messaging.
juka Ceesay

In Africa, the situation is very different compared to Indonesia or Malaysia. In its Human Development Report 2007-2008, the United Nations Development Program says production of palm oil in West-Africa is largely sustainable, mainly because it is undertaken on a smallholder level without resorting to diversity-damaging monoculture. The United Nations Food and Agriculture program is encouraging small farmers across Africa to grow palm oil, because the crop offers opportunities to improve livelihoods and incomes for the poor. You are very correct people need to do their home work more. My Grandma said before "Open your mind before you open your mouth you can learn a whole lot more".