Archived News

10/11/2009 (Mongabay.com) - Oil palm developers in the Indonesian half of New Guinea are signing questionable deals that exploit local communities and put important forest ecosystems at risk, alleges a new report from Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak.

09/11/2009 (Bernama) - The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Orion Genomics on Monday announced that a consortium co-led by the Advanced Biotechnology and Breeding Centre has sequenced three oil palm genomes from two palm species, an important food and biofuel crop.

08/11/2009 (IANS), Mumbai - The new Democratic Front government Sunday decided to sell tur dal, sugar and palm oil at concessional rates through the public distribution network till December-end.

07/11/2009 (All Africa.com) - When the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released its Palm Oil Buyers' Scorecard on 28 October 2009, a stark situation was brought to the world's attention: despite the availability of safe, earth-friendly palm oil options, Western companies were not meeting commitments to purchase those alternatives.

07/11/2009 (CPT.org) - The desire of North Americans to decrease their ecological footprint has increased the demand for eco-products such as palm oil-fed bio-fuel cars, organic palm oil cosmetic products and processed foods using palm oil that corporations like Kraft and Nestle tout as a "healthier" substitute for partially-hydrogenated oils. The global north's craving for palm oil has driven Colombia to become the world's largest producer of that crop. But this "green revolution" turns the color of blood and fire in Colombia.

07/11/2009 (Media global.org) - When the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released its Palm Oil Buyers’ Scorecard on 28 October 2009, a stark situation was brought to the world’s attention: despite the availability of safe, earth-friendly palm oil options, Western companies were not meeting commitments to purchase those alternatives.

06/11/2009 (World Bakers) - United Biscuits (UB) claims to have improved its' environmental stance after sourcing segregated sustainable palm oil.

06/11/2009 (The New York Times) - Earlier this week the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an association of palm oil producers, manufacturers, and environmental groups, concluded its annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a decision not to include greenhouse gas emissions standards in its certification criteria for ‘sustainable’ palm oil.

06/11/2009 (The Star Online), Petaling Jaya - The decision by oil palm planters to reject the proposal by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to adopt the greenhouse gas (GHG) criteria into its existing principles and criteria (P&C) reflects their stance on the need to fully understand the mechanics of the GHG proposal and its implications on the industry.

05/11/2009 (Energy Industry News), Kuala Lumpur - Once again, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) will organize the International Palm Oil Congress (PIPOC 2009) this year. The industry event of the year will focus on palm oil as the powerhouse in the oils and fats market and advances in the industry, including the need to balance its growth in harmony with the environment for sustainable development.

05/11/2009 (The Stump) - The environmental problems of using palm oil for biodiesel fuel and other products has been recognised for more than a few years. Less attention has been given to the widespread use of palm oil in food products. Widespread deforestation to expand plantations for palm oil has been occurring in countries to our north such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

05/11/2009 (Rainforest Action Network) - The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was founded to create a path towards sustainability in the palm oil industry. A voluntary process, oil palm producers, traders, buyers, and NGO’s have joined up to find an alternative to the massive forest destruction, social conflict, and climate chaos the booming palm oil industry is bringing to the world’s rainforests. But eight years into the process, there is still nothing sustainable about the palm oil the RSPO endorses.