| This is a true story. In a riveting and astonishing tell-all | | | | cent of its global production." |
| book called appropriately "Confessions of an | | | | In my view, therein lies the root of the problem. Either |
| Economic Hit Man", John Perkins recounts his life | | | | deliberately or inadvertently, no effort has been made |
| story working inadvertently as an "Economic Hit | | | | to distinguish between Malaysian palm oil and |
| Man". | | | | Indonesian palm oil. Just because Malaysia and |
| A bright young graduate from Boston University's | | | | Indonesia are collectively accountable for 83% of the |
| College of Business Administration, the impressionable | | | | world output in palm oil, does not mean that both |
| Perkins served in the American Peace Corps in | | | | countries adopts the same conservation and cultivation |
| Ecuador in September 1968. Following that stint Perkins | | | | policies. |
| was recruited by Chas. T. Main Inc (MAIN), an | | | | For one, the adorable Orang Utan is the Malaysian |
| international consulting firm that was in charge of | | | | national animal mascot. The orang utan thus holds a |
| studies to determine whether the World Bank should | | | | special place in every Malaysian heart and |
| lend developing countries billions of dollars to build | | | | conservation efforts are vigorously pursued. For |
| infrastructure projects. | | | | another, how can the UN report have a shred of |
| What followed was a dizzying rise up the echelons of | | | | credibility when Malaysia, despite its tiny land mass still |
| an organization that was, in effect an agency to over | | | | retains, up to now, close to 70% forest cover, and has |
| prescribe development infrastructure for developing | | | | been doing so for quite a number of decades. This has |
| countries - projects that were deliberately | | | | been so, despite rapid growth in the Malaysian palm oil |
| over-budgeted and over-designed. The real objective, | | | | industry and industrialization for the past fifty years. |
| that was unbeknownst to Perkins then, was that by | | | | We have to ask, just how is it even remotely possible |
| convincing these developing countries such as | | | | for 98% of the Malaysian rainforest to be destroyed |
| Indonesia, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Colombia | | | | by 2022 when 70% has been preserved for the past |
| to accept enormous loans from the World Bank, these | | | | 5 decades? |
| developing countries would be saddled with huge and | | | | Due to the stringent enforcement of The |
| insurmountable debts and be forever beholden to the | | | | Environmental Quality Act, and effective planning on |
| United States. Massive funds flow into the coffers of | | | | land use, the expansion of Malaysian palm oil |
| US corporations and the American government could | | | | production has come about through better R&D |
| then extract their "pound of flesh" including | | | | and the replanting of superior palm oil clones on |
| access to military cooperation, natural resources and | | | | existing palm oil land, agricultural land or previously |
| political support. The story takes on such riveting and | | | | logged over areas. For an august body like the UN to |
| yet terrifying dimensions with tales of fraudulent | | | | insinuate that 98% of the forest cover in BOTH |
| financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs rivaling the | | | | Malaysia and Indonesia will be destroyed by the year |
| darkest espionage thriller. Perkins names names and | | | | 2022, is thoughtless, irresponsible and foolhardy, to say |
| connect the dots in telling his bone chilling story of the | | | | the least! The UN will have to do some soul searching |
| nasty, manipulative and plainly evil practices carried out | | | | to rein in the reckless elements within their organization |
| in the name of empire.(i) | | | | and to come up with guidelines to prevent this august |
| Considering the concerted action against palm oil, we | | | | body from being manipulated by opportunist NGO's |
| have to wonder whether there is more going on | | | | such as the Friends of the Earth (FOE)! |
| beneath the surface than meets the eye. NGO's such | | | | It would not be remiss, to query as to the reasons for |
| as CSPI, FOE, Wetlands and others have, for some | | | | this organized and concerted action against palm oil by |
| time now, been doing a hatchet job against palm oil. In | | | | these so-called environmental NGO's like the FOE. A |
| the light of the revelations by conscientious and brave | | | | hint as to the real reason lies in an article written by |
| people like Perkins, it behooves us to question whether | | | | Rhett A Butler entitled: "Why is oil palm replacing |
| these NGO's have been doing it inadvertently in the | | | | tropical rainforests? Why are biofuels fueling |
| name of true conviction or as active agents in the | | | | deforestation?" published on April 25th, 2006. In |
| interest of empire? | | | | the article, Butler offers a clue for the virulent attacks |
| For instance, Marcel Silvius, a so-called climate expert | | | | against palm oil, viz: "The answer lies in the crop's |
| at Wetlands International in the Netherlands, in | | | | unparalleled productivity." He goes on to |
| ostensibly comparing "the benefits of palm oil to | | | | unwittingly give the real motive away: "Simply put, |
| the ecological disaster from wiping out virgin Asian rain | | | | palm oil is the most productive oil seed in the world. A |
| forests to grow lucrative new plantations," alleges | | | | single hectare of oil palm may yield 5,000 kg of crude |
| that "the cultivation of the palm trees was found | | | | oil or nearly 6,000 litres, according to data from |
| to unleash far more carbon dioxide than will be saved | | | | JourneytoForever." Then, the confessional: |
| by oil's burning." | | | | "For comparison, soybeans and corn - crops |
| The report went on to argue that the carbon released | | | | often heralded as top biofuel sources - generate only |
| from peat swamps in Indonesia and Malaysia that had | | | | 446 and 172 litres per hectare, respectively!" (ii) |
| been drained and burnt to make place for the palm oil | | | | Isn't it time for the media and right minded individuals |
| trees was causing global warming. The report would | | | | and institutions such as the UN to wake up to this |
| be hilarious if it were totally implausible. However, the | | | | insidious and vile misuse of the environmental agenda |
| devious and deliberately Machiavellian aspect of the | | | | against an innocent crop. |
| report is that it seeks to paint Malaysian and Indonesian | | | | Let's now examine whether the contention that |
| palm oil with the same brush. Anyone conversant with | | | | deforestation is leading to global warming which in turn |
| the industry will know that Malaysian palm oil | | | | is leading to extreme weather conditions around the |
| plantations are rarely planted on peat swamps as the | | | | world can stand up to the scrutiny of available data. |
| trees prefer sandy and well drained soils and Malaysia | | | | Numerous studies have shown that there is no |
| just does not indulge in slash and burn practices that | | | | increase in extreme weather. In fact, in a 1996 study |
| are so popular in Indonesia (perhaps because of | | | | by Nicholls Landsea, et al, this group of geophysicists |
| Indonesia's larger land mass), to clear virgin jungle . | | | | found strong evidence that there was a distinct |
| Palm oil is attractive as it is relatively abundant, cheap, | | | | downward trend for the last fifty years in the extreme |
| and needs few or no changes to already existing | | | | weather in the Atlantic. (iii) This was borne out in |
| power stations. | | | | another study in 1997 by Henderson-Sellers, et al in a |
| Unlike fossil fuels, it was considered that the carbon | | | | post IPCC assessment of tropical cyclones and global |
| emitted from palm oil's burning is equal to that | | | | climate change. This group of weather scientists again |
| absorbed during its growth. As a vegetable oil palm oil | | | | found no evidence of any such increase. (iv) |
| can enhance a healthy diet, and as a biofuel it can | | | | According to the United Nations Intergovernmental |
| reduce carbon emissions. | | | | Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a detailed |
| Yet, in a recent UN's environment programme report, | | | | examination of meteorological data fails to support the |
| 'The Last Stand of the Orang Utan: State of | | | | perception of increased frequency and severity of |
| Emergency', a report bordering on the ludicrous, says | | | | extreme climate events, in the context of a long term |
| natural rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia are being | | | | climate change. In a 2001 IPCC Report, the UN Panel |
| cleared so rapidly that up to 98 per cent may be | | | | reported "no long term trends" were |
| destroyed by 2022, and the lowland forest strongholds | | | | evident for tropical and subtropical storms as well as |
| of orang utans much sooner, unless urgent action is | | | | no systematic changes in the "frequency of |
| taken. This, the report alleges is a full decade earlier | | | | tornadoes, thunder days or hail (v) The data confirms |
| than the previous report estimated when it was | | | | that US Hurricane strikes over the last hundred years |
| published five years ago. Overall, the report goes on to | | | | are clearly not increasing. (vi) It is therefore clear that |
| contend, the loss of orang utan habitat is happening 30 | | | | extreme weather is not more frequent globally - the |
| per cent more rapidly than had previously been | | | | data simply does not bear that out and in fact, |
| thought. | | | | disproves it! |
| Quickly jumping on the bandwagon, the Borneo Orang | | | | It is easy to understand why environmental NGO's love |
| Utan Survival Foundation UK, a charity which works to | | | | this theory of global warming so much. Everytime |
| rescue, rehabilitate and release the animals into | | | | these NGO's run a campaign on pollution, for instance, |
| protected forest, warned that at the alleged current | | | | their cash register rings. It rings because pollution |
| rate of deforestation by the palm oil industry, orang | | | | scares the hell out of people. Tell people that they'd |
| utans in the wild could be close to extinction by 2012. | | | | get cancer and the money rolls in! |
| The UN also highlights the supposed growing threat | | | | However, these environmental NGO's like the FOE and |
| posed by palm oil harvesting, noting that large areas of | | | | Treehugger have bitten off more than they can chew, |
| Indonesian and Malaysian forest have been cleared to | | | | with global warming. For one, there is too little scientific |
| make way for plantations. Says the Report: "As | | | | evidence to back the theory and an abundance of |
| consumer awareness about healthy eating and ethical | | | | data proving that the theory is false, probably |
| shopping grows, palm oil is an increasingly popular | | | | motivated more by financial skullduggery than solid |
| alternative to trans fatty acids - more closely | | | | science. To make matters worse for the NGO's, data |
| associated with heart disease - and is found in one in | | | | painstakingly collected for over a century disproves |
| 10 supermarket products including margarine, baked | | | | and discredits their theory. |
| goods and sweets, as well as detergents and | | | | In the view of the Palm Oil truth Foundation, it's about |
| lipsticks." | | | | time that the media wakes up to this fact, and not |
| The UN Report continues: "There has been much | | | | allow themselves to be manipulated by these |
| soul searching among environmentalists because palm | | | | irresponsible NGO's. For that matter, every time it |
| oil is also in demand for biofuels, seen as one of the | | | | snows or the mercury hits a new low, any right thinking |
| best ways of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and | | | | human being would and should question this junk |
| so combating global warming. Palm oil is currently | | | | theory on global warming! After all, the proof of the |
| considered the most productive source of biodiesel | | | | pudding is in the eating! |
| fuel, and Indonesia and Malaysia account for 83 per | | | | |