From Brian Payton’s “Fat of the Land”:
According to the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest, palm oil, although less harmful than oils containing trans fats, still promotes heart disease. It’s also unhealthy for wildlife. Over 80 percent of the world’s palm oil is produced in former tropical rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the only habitat of wild orangutans, Sumatran rhinoceroses, pygmy elephants, and an ark’s worth of endangered and endemic species. Between 1985 and 1997, these islands lost 60 percent of their rainforest, contributing to what the ordinarily staid World Bank refers to as “a species extinction spasm of planetary proportions.” Demand for palm oil is forecast to double by 2020, requiring about 3,000 square kilometres of new land every year—in part to support our addiction to junk food.
For more of Barry Calhoun’s photos, visit www.barrycalhounphotography.com
 

    Cancel

You can subscribe to The Walrus for less than $2.98 an issue — click on the button below to learn more. Click here to find out about our Support The Walrus campaign, or buy a print of the new cover

Article Tools

»  RSS Feeds  RSS Feeds

»  Printer-friendly page

»  Email this article

»  More in this issue

»  More in Online Exclusive

»  All articles by Barry Calhoun / Redux Pictures

»  BUY THIS ISSUE



Tonto Takes Charge
Tonto Takes Charge
by Kent Monkman | MAY 2008
Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: a portrait.

Vive le Saskatoon libre
Vive le Saskatoon libre
by Ken Alexander | JUNE 2007
“Paris of the Prairies” is an intriguing sobriquet for a town that began as a site for buffalo kills,