Palm Oil Industry Feeds Lies to US Consumers
Lies, lies, lies. These greedy, heartless orangutan killers are pushing their dope onto US consumers. We need to wake up and boycott palm oil! NOW! They destroy forests and murder orangutans for lowfat margarine. Shame Shame Shame! ~ Rich
This graphic was provided to us by supporter Jenn Carvin:
Americans show growing appetite for palm oil
By Ooi Tee Ching
The US could buy a million tonnes this year, says the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, adding that so far in the first half of 2008, Malaysia has shipped more than 450,000 tonnes there
CONSUMERS in America are increasingly accepting palm oil’s health benefits, as seen in the rise of shipments to the US, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC).
“Palm oil nutrition awareness is gaining momentum there,” MPOC deputy chief executive officer Dr Kalyana Sundram told Business Times in an interview in Petaling Jaya recently.
Palm oil in its natural form does not contain any trans fat and thus, is a healthy alternative fat for making bakery shortenings, confectionery fats and margarine that go into baked and processed foods like chocolates and cookies.
In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that from January 1 2010, all 88,000 restaurants in the state will be prohibited from using oil, margarine and shortening containing trans fats. Retail baked goods have an additional 1-year grace period until January 1 2011. Packaged food, however, are exempted.
In New York, all bakeries and restaurants in the city have since July 1 been ordered to stop using hydrogenated oils in crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods and deep-fried desserts. Philadelphia and Seattle are two other cities to have done the same.
The rising palm oil consumption in the US is helped, in part, by the US government’s move to mandate declaration of saturated fat and trans fat levels separately on nutritional labels from January 1, 2006.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), eating saturated fat and trans fats raises low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. This means, trans fats - listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil - can raise bad cholesterol and lower healthy cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart attacks.
Many food manufacturers in the US add hydrogen, in the presence of a chemical catalyst, to soya oil and canola to harden them into bakery fats. Hydrogenation increases the melting point of fats and gives food a longer shelf life but it results in harmful trans fats.
The FDA warned that these artificial trans fat is so common that the average American eats about 2kg of artery-clogging trans fat in a year.
Palm oil, on the other hand, is a healthier choice for use in processed food because it is not genetically modified and does not contain harmful trans fat.
Rising palm oil consumption in the US could also be attributed to a patented fat blend that uses up to 50 per cent palm oil, discovered by Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Brandeis University biomedical scientists Dr Kalyana Sundram and Dr K.C. Hayes, 13 years ago.
They had since licensed US Nasdaq-listed Smart Balance Inc to market the patented blend in America.
Last year, Smart Balance posted US$160 million (RM521.60 million) in margarine sales alone. While it is not the No.1 margarine brand in the US, Smart Balance is fast eating into its rivals’ market share because the patented blend is proven to help improve cholesterol ratios.
“Since 1996, Smart Balance has been paying royalty to MPOB and Brandeis University for the patented blend. This will expire in 2015,” Dr Kalyana Sundram said.
When asked to estimate America’s increasing appetite for Malaysian palm oil, he replied: “This year, the US could buy a million tonnes. So far, in the first half of this year, we’ve shipped more than 450,000 tonnes there.
“A million tonnes is not much because it is less than three per cent of the total edible oils consumption there. There is still tremendous growth potential.”
Palm oil is richer in mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fatty acids than any other saturates, even more than the average olive oil. When it comes to blood cholesterol, palm oil is scientifically proven to be just as heart healthy as olive oil.
In Malaysia, fastfood outlets like Dunkin’ Donuts, Burger King, McDonald’s Corp, Wendy’s, Kenny Rogers Chicken Roasters, Starbucks, A&W, KFC and Pizza Hut have long been using trans fat free palm oil in their food preparation. [They deserve nothing less than a full boycott!]
Source: http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Industries/Commodities/transfat.xml/Article/index_html
July 30th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I found it interesting how the article says that palm oil is used because of trans fat and that it is not bad for you from a cholesterol perspective. I found it interesting because a booklet I picked up at my doctor’s office about cholesterol states otherwise.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
It’s even worse than that. I live in the Wash DC area, and the Malaysian government is running TV ads, telling our government and lobbyists how friendly they are to American business… while the screen is showing an orangutan brachiating! It is hearbreaking and repulsive at the same time — especially since that orangutan is probably in a sanctuary because of irresponsible business practices.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
http://ga3.org/campaign/stickers/xd8dubg497e635j5?
Above is a link to the Rainforest Action Networks site (RAN) in America. They are organising a “supermarket sticker” campaign for August 13th. The idea is that people go into their local supermarket on August 13th armed with 25 stickers reading, “”Warning: Product May Contain Rainforest Destruction” along with their website down the bottom: Theproblemwithpalmoil.org
Interested people can register at the first website and have a “sticker kit” posted out to them. This is one way to send a message directly to supermarkets or fast food outlets about your concern with palm oil and rainforest destruction/species extinctions. Stickers could be placed on windows and counter tops in fast food outlets as well as on products containing palm oil in supermarkets.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Thanks for the comments!
Jenn– Thanks for the graphic and realtiy check.
Dawn– they play that ad in New York, too. It’s disgraceful. That orangutan might not even be alive anymore…. The palm oil industry most likely subsidized the entire ad campaign.
Amanda– RAN has the right idea! We will be in touch with them shortly.