Now if you're anything like me, you'll be reading this because it said 'chocolate spread' in the title, and you might be disappointed to know I'm not sugar coating anything. However I have a bigger issue to discuss with you today. I recently found out that my favourite chocolate spread brand 'Nutella' contains palm oil, knowing this I decided to go shopping and do some investigating of my own. I had the idea that if I went to the largest supermarket near me ( which happened to be Tescos) I could find an alterntative.
How wrong I was, I couldn't find ONE chocolate spread that didn't contain palm oil, this includes all of the Tescos own branded spread. Palm oil itself is a cause of so many deeply concerning environmental problems, well described in this extract from 'Say no to palm oil' website : http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php.
Many people would disagree with this post, maybe even WWF due to the the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil group having certified certain areas just for growing Palm Oil. However this doesnt solve the issue as deforestation is still happening, but in a place less densily populated by animals. Does this make it ok? credits to this link:http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-palm-oil-no-not-really/
Having looked into the alternatives there is now one with almost identical properties to palm oil , yeast! And yes you're right in thinking that it wont cause deforestation or forrest fires. heres the link all about it: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/feb/17/scientists-reveal-revolutionary-palm-oil-alternative-yeast.
Help big corporations notice the damage they are causing our planet and force them to stop using this product and to put more funding into the alternatives I have shed some light on. I dont mean the alternative vegetable oils as they could increase deforestation by upto 9x. By simply signing this petition and sharing to your peers on social media you can make a difference! Help Companys look to the future of science for their next oil in their spread! Thanks for reading.
To all of the big coporations out there using Palm oil or even sustainable palm oil.
Is it all really worth it? when you're great great grandchildren are having to look in history books to see what an orangutan looks like will it be worth it then? Can we really put our trust in sustainable Palm Oil plantations when we know the demand will just increase for the sustainable stuff too? and where will the land come from? not all land is sustainable and the population of the world will continue to increase. Please look at the links provided and consider other routes or even make a start by funding scientists such as the ones discovering how we can use yeast instead, afterall science is the future!
