Archived News

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 (Rainforest Portal) - An Open Letter signed by more than 80 organizations from 31 countries was delivered yesterday to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) [search] and to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) co-initiator of the initiative. In the letter, they are urged to end the “greenwashing” and certification of palm oil plantations as being “sustainable”.

04/11/2009 (The Independent) - A leading food manufacturer says it will switch to a "sustainable" source of palm oil for its most famous brands, such as McVitie's, Jaffa Cakes and Penguin.

04/11/2009 (Business Green) - In a major coup for the campaign to promote adoption of sustainably certified palm oil, Europe's biggest biscuit manufacturer United Biscuits has this week signed a deal to purchase certified palm oil from New Britain Palm Oil for a minimum of two years.

04/11/2009 (International Animal Rescue) - The plight of a baby orangutan rescued from plantation workers in Borneo has exposed the high price these endangered primates are paying for the production of palm oil. The 2-3 year old female was found hogtied to a pole and had clearly been brutally beaten. Covered in cuts and bruises, she was also severely dehydrated and emaciated after being starved for days or even weeks. A second young female was in a similar condition. According to the plantation workers the young orangutans' mothers had been caught, killed and eaten.

04/11/2009 (International Animal Rescue) - The plight of a baby orangutan rescued from plantation workers in Borneo has exposed the high price these endangered primates are paying for the production of palm oil. The 2-3 year old female was found hogtied to a pole and had clearly been brutally beaten. Covered in cuts and bruises, she was also severely dehydrated and emaciated after being starved for days or even weeks. A second young female was in a similar condition. According to the plantation workers the young orangutans' mothers had been caught, killed and eaten.

04/11/2009 (Eco Walk The Talk) - Palm Oil is the largest plantation crop in the world, and much of it is grown in Malaysia and Indonesia where primary rainforests that are rich in biodiversity and home to millions of species are being rapidly cleared.

04/11/2009 (Ghana Export Promotion Council) - UK bans another sustainable palm oil advert A MAGAZINE advert that endorsed the sustainability of palm oil has been banned by the UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) for making unsubstantiated and untruthful claims.

04/11/2009 (WWF), Petaling Jaya - While the Malaysian palm oil industry has been making efforts to improve its practices, this has yet to be matched by efforts on the buyers’ side in Europe. To date, 18 oil palm companies in Malaysia are registered members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Yet a recent assessment by WWF International has shown that the majority of European palm oil buyers are failing to buy certified sustainable palm oil.

03/11/2009 (Bernama) - The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) will help British importers to be aware that Malaysia produces the commodity on a sustainable basis as well as thwart campaigns by non-governmental organisations and activist groups in Europe which are aiming to influence decision makers to stop its import through legislation.

03/11/2009 (Biotechnology & Biosafety Information Centre) - Thailand is one of the world's major agricultural countries. A large part of the nation's irrigable land is allocated for cultivation and it has a climate that is suitable for growing a wide variety of crops. Thailand produces a broad range of quality agricultural products and is a key international exporter of agricultural products. Under Thailand's 15-year Alternative Energy Plan, the government intends to promote the use of bioenergy produced from ethanol, biodiesel, biomass, and biogas. These alternative fuels can be made from raw materials that are abundant in Thailand such as cassava, sugar, rice and palm oil.

03/11/2009 (Article Trader) - In an article entitled "Palm oil industry must get out of denial mode" written by Sean Whyte, The CEO of Nature Alert and published in the Jakarta Post and the New Straits Times, Whyte called the palm oil industry "arguably the most environmentally destructive in the world."