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Originally Posted by Woogie Man  To illustrate what small choices made by billions can do, I'd like to use the Orangutan and its imminent extinction as an example.
We will be losing the Orangutan in the next few years due to loss of habitat and for what??....so agribusiness can have a cheap supply of a completely un-necessary source of an oil we don't have to use.
Not only is the orangutan dying off...suffering along the way, but the burning of the forests has dumped millions of tons of carbon into the air, poisoned the local waters and destroyed fishing, run people off their traditional lands and made them serfs to the plantation owners. So, in a nutshell, a thoughtless decision made on our behalf by companies in search of profit has wiped out species, fouled the air and water and destroyed a way of life for many people.
We didn't ask for these companies to do this, but we support their decision every time we buy products made with palm oil. Palm oil often isn't labeled as such, so one has to research to be be able to avoid it.
Just as we can't have a democracy without an informed electorate, we can't have capitalism without informed consumers. If we choose to not be informed, these multi-national companies will run amok in the name of profit. The impact they can have is immense, permanent and has global implications.
I could go on and on about this, but instead am posting some videos for those so inclined to view. it will hopefully open some eyes to the tragedies we support just by shopping at the grocery store.
Think about it. YouTube - ‪Warning: May Contain Palm Oil‬‏ YouTube - ‪Forests - The Palm Oil Threat‬‏ YouTube - ‪Coming Soon: Orangutan Extinction!‬‏ YouTube - ‪Indonesian Orangutans Face Extinction‬‏ YouTube - ‪Orangutan babies‬‏ |
God bless you for spreading the word of being a responsible human being w the earth we've been given to inhabit. I get so discouraged sometimes (maybe it's my age). The Chinese olympics I really could not stomach - in fact, I refused to watch or condone in any way. Ppl I knew thought I was nuts, but I could not believe the world was going to be contributing millions to China's economy - rewarding them for human rights violations and irresponsible (ok, that word is probably not strong enough) manufacturing methods.
We have some standards in this country for manufacturing so that we minimize the damage to the surrounding areas, and what do companies do - move their manufacturing to countries where there are less (if any) manufacturing safety guidelines for humans and for the environment. This is not done to lower our prices as consumers. This is done to increase their profit margin. This also greatly decreases the jobs available in this country, increasing the unemployment rate. I think there should be tax breaks for manufacturers that choose to stay in this country and implement safer manufacturing guidelines. It's a win/win for all of us - jobs for ppl needing jobs and a cleaner planet! We need to start rewarding companies who do things the right way, and start penalizing companies whose only regard is their profit margin (not rewarding them for "questionable" business practices).