Yesterday we trawled the streets of Newcastle city centre because in spite of initial protests, Nestle still insist on sourcing the palm oil for its popular Kit Kats from land that was once home to rainforests and the orangutan. Or to put it another way, because no species should be threatened with extinction for the luxury and greed of another.
The weather was on our side which luckily meant that the town centre was bustling. Much like our polling on trident, public opinion was unanimous; nobody wants to push another animal into oblivion for the sake of a sweet snack. About 30 people thirty jumped at the chance to have their photo’s taken with our orangutan cutout. Those who didn’t still expressed their support as well as concern over Nestles past actions like the infant formula controversy and sourcing milk from illegally seized farms in Zimbabwe.
We also dropped in on the local branch of lush; who have expressed concern over the use of palm oil in cosmetics, where employees had their photos taken and showed great interest.
This campaign is so important because it ties together two of the greatest problems facing the planet today, climate change and the loss of biodiversity. Rainforests contain huge stores of carbon dioxide and biodiversity. Healthy ecosystems and strong biodiversity are the earth’s natural defenses against unprecedented change and the human race is quickly burning all of its bridges behind them. We may still be able to save ourselves from runaway climate change but we may find a world that contains no other life forms not worth living in.
Comments