Heart Against Palm

This photo from The Guardian is one of many depicting the harsh reality that is the palm oil industry.

You eat a healthy diet. You pay attention to what ingredients are in packaged products. But do you know where some of this ingredients come from? Even those that, on the surface, don’t look too harmful?

Maybe an ingredient isn’t too bad for your personal health, but to the health of the planet and every living organism, it could be very detrimental. And that’s where the debate over palm oil comes in.

First off, what is palm oil? As the name implies, it’s a type of edible vegetable oil derived from the palm fruit, grown on the African oil palm tree. Oil palms are originally from Western Africa but can flourish wherever heat and rainfall are abundant. Today, palm oil is grown throughout Africa, Asia, North America, and South America, with 85% of all palm oil globally produced and exported from Indonesia and Malaysia.

This gives an overview of where we can find and harvest palm oil, but that doesn’t give the full picture. Not only is palm oil bad for the areas where it’s produced, it’s also one of the leading causes of global warming. The fastest and the worst deforestation rate in the history of humankind is taking place in the tropical forests of Indonesia, where, as mentioned earlier, is the main exporter of palm oil. The clearing and burning of forests for more and more palm oil facilities releases massive amounts of greenhouse gases.

The environment is further affected by the waste produced in this industry. A palm oil mill generates 2.5 metric tons of effluent for every metric ton of palm oil it produces. Direct release of this effluent can cause freshwater pollution, which affects downstream biodiversity and people. Also, burning is a common method for clearing vegetation in natural forests as well as within oil palm plantations. The burning of forests releases smoke and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, polluting the air and contributing to climate change. Fires in peat areas are particularly difficult to put out. The smoke and haze from these blazes have health consequences throughout Southeast Asia.

Not to mention that as much as 80 percent of the land-clearing in Indonesia is also illegal. As a result, shady production facilities are rife with human-rights abuses. Likewise, the diminished habitat hurts orangutans and Sumatran white tigers, both of which are facing extinction. Oil palm production also leads to an increase in human-wildlife conflict as populations of large animals are squeezed into increasingly isolated fragments of natural habitat.

So besides all of this information about the environment, it doesn’t look like anything too crazy. Heck, it’s plant-based! A vegetable oil! So it must be okay, right? Palm oil has become more prominent in packaged foods because it allows companies to market their products as “0 grams trans fat.” Those are the fat molecules that raise your cholesterol. However, in one study, people who were put on a diet rich in palm oil for about five weeks saw their LDL cholesterol rise. This is very similar to what happens on a diet high in partially hydrogenated oils, the ones that actually contain trans fats. There’s basically no benefit of having one type of oil over another. Either way, it spells trouble for your arteries.

We can put some blame on Indonesia and other countries in Asia and South America for contributing to the problem, but Americans are the ones creating the initial demand and business. First off, palm oil offers a far greater yield at a lower cost of production than other vegetable oils, so it makes the demand more sensible through a capitalistic mindset. U.S. imports of palm oil more than doubled between 2005 and 2012. Last year the country imported about 2.7 billion pounds. This is about 380 million gallons, which is is enough to fill more than 500 Olympic swimming pools and is more oil than BP spilled in the Gulf during the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

That was an (oil) spill of information there. (I had to.) What can we do to prevent further damage and stop supporting the palm oil industry? The thing is, the extent of palm oil usage in daily life is astounding. You can find palm oil in everything from foods, to soaps, to cosmetics, and much more. Just from reading ingredient labels, you might not be able to catch every trace of palm oil. When in doubt, do your research. Become a conscious consumer who chooses products not just based on fancy claims or packaging, but by the values the brand and company stands behind. There are many online resources where you can learn what brands don’t use palm oil. And perhaps even more powerful, speak out and teach others about this issue. As much as we discuss climate change and becoming more sustainable, there are still topics we overlook, or we choose to overlook them because there’s so ingrained in a conventional lifestyle. But to truly make a lasting impact supporting the world as we know it, we have to stop digging underground, stop chopping down landscape, and start preserving and protecting the valuable life surrounding us.

How much have you heard about the effects of palm oil? Did I leave anything out in my research? I’m here to continue learning more and hopefully encouraging others to do the same.

Take care, and keep the faith. -Allie

Photogratree: Spring Edition

When I first arrived in Quebec, I was immediately taken aback by the landscape surrounding me. As someone so familiar with driving along the highway and only seeing miles upon miles of flat land and the occasional farm or tree. Certainly fits the proper name, The Great Plains. How “Great” they are, however, is questionable.

So whenever I take in the nature surrounding me here in Canada, I cannot help but be in awe. After living a life only seeing endless fields, I am reminded of how strong my craving is for texture. Trees, mountains, wildlife, the whole shebang.

Living among the Canadian woods has probably been my favorite aspect of studying abroad. The problem is, when the university considers my stay “Winter Semester,” they weren’t kidding. Even in April, days that are both sunny and above fifty degrees are rare blessings.

To take advantage of these days, I go on walks. Without a car or free form of transportation, my legs will do. So with a nicer day, or at least one with sunshine and a breeze gentler than the intimidating gusts from previous days, I ventured around my campus until I stumbled a bike path that, when I first arrived, was hidden beneath a thick layer of snow.

The path is quite short, maybe a fifteen-minute walk, but with as many pictures I was capturing, constantly pulling out my phone, the original walk felt much longer. But no photo could truly commemorate the peace that comes with walking alone, no clear destination in mind, among sprawling trees and sounds of animals waking up from a long hibernation. I was honestly disappointed to eventually wander back and hear students talking loudly outside. If it was acceptable for me to become a recluse and build myself a cabin in the Canadian woods, I would without hesitation.

I don’t have much time left here, and I really do hope I am afforded enough warm days to continue exploring. So much of my semester abroad has been plagued with weeks upon weeks of hiding beneath blankets inside my dorm, looking out the window to see ceaseless snowfall. Having a day where I’m not chilled to my core when walking outside leaves me in bewilderment. I certainly now appreciate the simplicity of a day that doesn’t require a parka even more.

As with my other photography-oriented post, I have a similar disclaimer. I’m not a photographer. I thank the iPhone 7’s camera for such high quality photos. I’m often not inspired to take pictures because I’d much rather just be in the moment without a phone in my face, but nature inspires me.

While I’d rather not leave my new oasis in the woods, I’m glad I’ll have my words and images to look back on and hopefully motivate me to return to some form of this landscape, Canadian, American, or otherwise.

 A little repetitive maybe, but hey, nature is beautiful, and I cannot wait for the days I can soak in more of the sun’s warmth and admire all the little but intricate details found only in God’s creation. We as humans are on equal ground, made with the same substance as these trees and all other plants and animals. We are part of the ecosystem. I wish we would treat it as such. But on a lovely day, my part is take pictures and look on with wonder.

Take care, and keep the faith. -Allie

 

Photogratree

At the midpoint of this week, I wanted to try something a little different. Unless you remember my very first blog posts, I tend to avoid using pictures in my posts. To some extent, I don’t see a point in just finding random pictures when the words speak for themselves. On top of that, I’ve never been too great at photography, although it’s something I would love to get better at.

So here I am, with a new year comes a new opportunity to just experiment and see what happens. I have made the commitment to myself already to go out and explore my surroundings at least once a week. Go somewhere new, try a new store or restaurant, and really get to know the town I’m spending these few months in.

My first attempt at doing so was this past weekend. I didn’t even go far at all. In fact, it was so chilly and windy, I decided to just walk around my campus and see what it all has to offer.

Simply put, I fell in love. I fear most of these photos will look very similar because I am just in awe of the landscape here. I come from the Midwest where it’s flat as a pancake, where you can gaze out for miles and see nothing but grass and the occasional cow. Something as simple as a cluster of trees makes me excited. I was breathing into my scarf the entire time on my little nature walk, but it was so worth it. The weather in general hasn’t even been that bad recently, warmer than where I came from, but this particular weekend dipped down into some colder temperatures.

This has only been a week so far, and I already love it. Taking random pictures and getting lost are the exactly the reasons why I wanted to take on this adventure. While yes, I am a student, I am also a globetrotter. I have just over three months to soak in as much as I can, so I want to make sure I’m really taking advantage of this community.

Who knows where I might want to wander off to next? I know a thrift store and a used book store downtown are in my sights, but from there, I’ll keep learning all I can and finding those hidden treasures because every moment I spend here is a treasure.

This is an attitude that I hope to carry back with me in the spring. It’s far too easy for me to get into a rut of routine and lose sight of the present moment. My mind is constantly swirling with worries and thoughts, rarely do I consciously observe my surroundings. Of course, just having a change in scenery is generally good for me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still find an appreciation for life, wherever that may be.

Hopefully I can continue to share my snapshots with you more often, and hopefully that statement encourages me to take more pictures. I think back to past travels to places like Las Vegas or Chicago or even Europe, and while I didn’t have a decent camera on my phone at those times, I still regret not capturing more of those moments. We focus so much on making “picture perfect” opportunities to share with the world online, that we forget how wonderful it can be to have photos just for yourself to look back and reflect. Especially for someone like me who can have a really bad memory.

So if you take anything away today, just remember to relish life. Make that effort to find the good in every day. Take time for yourself to do the things that interest you. Be a tourist wherever you go, your eyes open to beauty and possibility.

Take care, and keep the faith. -Allie