MovieChat Forums > Born to Be Wild (2011) Discussion > Orangutans and Palm Oil

Orangutans and Palm Oil

posted 13 years ago by mmisia
2 replies | jump to latest

First off, I want to say I really appreciated this movie. Working in the conservation field for ten years, and having also been fortunate enough to do some rehabilitation work with rescued chimpanzees, I teared up more than a few times (I can also be overly sentimental!). The cinematography is stunning. The animals are gorgeous. The women are charming.

So where does the "but" come in?

I was really disappointed that palm oil plantations merited only a passing mention in the orangutan storyline. Of all crops, Palm oil currently poses the largest threat to biodiversity. In fact, many conservationists believe orangutans (and other animals) may be extinct in as little as two decades because of destruction of their habitat and related consequences. I cannot imagine a larger and more effective method to reach mainstream consumer audiences than through Hollywood. And nowhere in the film do they tell you your options as consumers (ESPECIALLY with regards to a product we come into contact with SO often). What a missed opportunity. Shame.

Consumers WANT to know what they can do. The environmental movement always walks a fine line between honesty and cynicism. People want to hear they can be proactive! They WANT to know that they can do something to combat all of the environmental naysaying!

At least I think they do.

Google "palm oil." Google "alternative names for palm oil." I would say this product is in about 80% of the items on grocery store shelves. It is a HUGE issue in conservation these days.

[–] acb132 13 years ago

excellent point

people think of palm oil as benign and positive when it causes more destruction than almost imaginable, areas that had seemed relatively safe just cleared by the hundreds of square miles just like that recently

[–] MyOpinions 12 years ago

Thank you for mentioning this.

I haven't seen this documentary yet and have been very anxious to do so. Am planning on buying the DVD right now and wondered how much, if at all, they touched on this very issue. This crisis has been really weighing my mind and soul down lately and feeling quite helpless to do much to help save orangutans, and other endangered species in the areas being burned, from what looks to be almost certain extinction in the wild. Many sites that I've read have said orangutans could be extinct in as few as three years. The Aceh forest orangutans could become extinct in a matter of WEEKS due to palm oil plantations. 20 orangutans were shot and most left to "bleed out" and suffered horribly, some eaten by stray dogs, all for palm oil. This is illegal and their killers could've gotten five years in prison but got a mere eight months. This was very recent. It's so heartbreaking. The recent slaughter of more than half the entire elephant population in Camaroon for their ivory, due to demand in Asia makes me want to go on a rampage, and not against nonhuman animals, of course.

This may seem a little graphic but it's what's happening in reality, and more people need to open their eyes. Things seem to have continued to get worse since your original post a year ago.

Also at risk of extinction in the same areas as the orangutans are pygmy elephants and Sumatran tigers, as well as other species.

There is the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) that numerous companies have joined, which sounds promising, but I've read some negative things about them, so one would need to look for more information and not just take it at face value.

Palm oil labeling should be required on all products, food and nonfood, right now, and I don't know why that isn't happening. Oh, ya, money is why.

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