#consumer-boycott — Public Fediverse posts

If you have been paying attention, you will be aware that the nation of #Israel is committing #Genocide in #Gaza against the people of #Palestine. You may nave seen the request today from the people of Gaza to use the term #Haulicost instead.

It has become clear in the last ten days that the Government of #Australia is continuing to provide parts for the #F35 aircraft to Israel, despite public statements to the contrary. Israel is using the F35 to fire missiles into Gaza and kill people.

You may be wondering … ‘well, what can I do?’

I have been using the ‘Boycat: Ethical Shopping’ app for a few shops now. It scans bar codes and immediately tells you if the company making the item is fine or if it supports Israel in some way. The company may sell into Israel, sell or donate to the #IDF, donate into Israel etc.

The app puts information in your hands at the time of purchase. You can then decide if you want to buy the item. You may still buy the item, but in making your decision, you have more information than before.

I recommend you download it onto your phone and give it a go. I got the hang of it by scanning a few items in my pantry before taking it to the shops.

#ConsumerBoycott
#AusPol

https://apps.apple.com/au/app/boycat-ethical-shopping/id6474510742

https://mastodon.social/@alexlunaview/114157235239211428

Wow. If true (no link provided) this is very big. A very big slap in the face to the US

#EU #ConsumerBoycott

@JoeChip @davetroy I thought I was the only one thinking about a possible silent revolution. #consumerboycott. I’m glad to hear I’m not alone. The problem is fear. It can be done safely in our homes legally and all we have to do is call in sick and not spend any money. One or two days to financially crush the 1% employers in this country and we the people are 97% labor force. We have the power.

@davetroy
GOP wreckers don't care about resolving problems. I fail to see any legislative strategy, other than abject surrender, that can forestall (temporarily) this outcome.

The only real option is a stay-at-home #GeneralStrike and #ConsumerBoycott.

If you hit the street, Trump will invoke the insurrection act. But even troops on the street can't force you to go back to work.

Terrifying Tale of Halloween: Palm Oil Ecocide in Your Treats!

This #Halloween, as you revel in terrifying tales and creepy costumes, remember that the most terrifying tale of all isn’t enjoyable folklore—it’s the horrifying truth about palm oil. This ingredient causes #deforestation, #ecocide, #humanrights abuses and #indigenous land-grabbing. The production of #palmoil casts a dark shadow over our planet, as it can only be grown on destroyed tropical rainforests. So-called “sustainable” palm oil used by the world’s biggest food brands like Nestle, Mondelez, Hersheys, Ferrero and Mars is a complete greenwashing lie. So don’t buy any of it! All palm oil threatens the very existence of wildlife, polluting our air and water, accelerates climate change, and tramples on the rights of indigenous communities worldwide. This Halloween, take action and use your wallet as a weapon. 🌍🌳🦍 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

https://youtu.be/Hccw9zCh9pw

What is #Halloween’s most terrifying tale? #Palmoil #greenwashing 🧐💰🤑👿 #ecocide contained in your favourite #chocolate ☠️🌴🪔☠️ and #candy! Take action for #wildlife when you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/10/18/halloweens-most-terrifying-tale-palm-oil-greenwashing-and-ecocide-in-your-treats/

DYK so-called “sustainable” #palmoil is a #greenwashing lie that still causes #deforestation?🤯 Learn how to #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife this #Halloween 🎃👻🪦 Instead enjoy #palmoilfree and #vegan treats and #candy @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/10/18/halloweens-most-terrifying-tale-palm-oil-greenwashing-and-ecocide-in-your-treats/

Palm oil is commonly used in Halloween candies and treats for one reason only – it is cheap to manufacture.

The production of palm oil has severe environmental and social impacts. Deforestation and ecocide caused by palm oil production threatens wildlife habitats, contributes to air pollution and water pollution, is strongly linked to climate change, and infringes on the rights of indigenous peoples all over the tropical world.

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

Although proponents of palm oil claim that it helps farmers to earn a living wage, a 2021 report by Chain Reaction Research found that the world’s biggest brands earn the lion’s share of profit from palm oil, 66% or more of gross profit flows back to the world’s biggest FMCG companies such as Nestle, Unilever, Hersheys and Colgate-Palmolive. In contrast, almost 0% of profit flows back to farmers themselves.

The Problems with Palm Oil

Palm Oil Detectives is a website that gathers together evidence from dozens of different sources in order to clearly show the elaborate and widespread greenwashing of so-called “sustainable” palm oil. Take a look at the 10 forms of “sustainable” palm oil greenwashing to see how this works, using a network of zoos and fake NGOs in order to push the narrative of “sustainable” palm oil to consumers.

Research: Certifying Palm Oil as “Sustainable” Is No Panacea

University of Michigan research reveals that RSPO certification is associated with deforestation and human rights abuses in Guatemala. Boycott palm oil! The…

Certification Schemes Fail to Stop Palm Oil Deforestation

71 rights groups warn that certification schemes like RSPO and FSC fail to stop deforestation and abuses. Learn why they are called…

RSPO member SIAT leaves Nigerian farmers without food. Leases their illegally taken land for €1.23 Euros per hectare, per year

A 5-month investigation by Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi and Kevin Woke of Sahara Reporters reveals how RSPO member SIAT Nigeria Limited is involved in…

Greenwashing Tactic 9: Partnerships, Sponsorships and Research Funding

Greenwashing Tactic 9. Corporations use NGOs, Zoo partnerships, sponsorships, and research funding to give an industry or brand a ‘green image.

This website also provides evidence in the form of many research papers and reports from many non-profits (those organisations not partnered with the palm oil supply chain). These reports expose the immense corruption, ecocide and greenwashing in the palm oil industry along with its human rights abuses, violence, land-grabbing and animal cruelty – all associated with RSPO members supposedly using “sustainable” palm oil.

Greenwashing: Manufacturing consumer demand for palm oil

Since its inception two decades ago, the global certification for palm oil the RSPO continues to promote “sustainable” palm oil. Yet not one of its supply chain members has actually eradicated deforestation or human rights abuses from their palm oil supply chains. This constant promotion of the palm oil industry in spite of evidence of its ongoing failures is clear evidence of the RSPO’s greenwashing.

The global demand for palm oil contributes significantly to deforestation, particularly in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, Colombia, Nigeria and Uganda. These regions are rich in biodiversity, and the loss of their rainforests impacts numerous species non-human beings of all shapes and sizes. This includes not only the poster child for palm oil ecocide – the three orangutan species, but also rare and endangered plants and animal species.

From the smallest insect to the most magnificent elephant, to exquisite and vibrantly coloured birds – all are under threat by palm oil’s relentless growth across all tropical regions of the world. Indigenous peoples with their unique cultures, customs and languages are also endangered by palm oil expansion as well.

The #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife movement starts with you

If this terrifying tale of palm oil has alarmed you, the good news is – there are actions you can take.

One powerful and effective way to help rare animals, plants and indigenous peoples is to use your wallet as a weapon and boycott palm oil. By learning how to identify palm oil in products and choosing products that are palm oil free, you can contribute to reducing demand for this destructive commodity.

A great place to start is by searching for palm oil-free alternatives on this website and also by promoting the #Boycottpalmoil and #Boycott4Wildlife on movement on social media.

Remember, every purchase you make has an impact. This Halloween, support the wildlife you love and use your wallet as a weapon.

Download your free Halloween infographic here

Learn how to boycott palm oil this Halloween in America, the UK and Australia

The reality of these chocolate and confectionery brands is the spookiest story you will ever hear this Halloween Learn how to boycott with handy lists for the US, Uk and Australia. Discover the spookiest story of #Halloween 🎃👻💀: “sustainable” #palmoil is not sustainable! Major brands continue to buy #palmoil infused with #ecocide. Make sure you…

Ultra-processed Foods: Trashing Health and The Planet

Our world is facing a huge challenge: we need to create enough high-quality, diverse and nutritious food to feed a growing population – and do so within the boundaries of our planet. This means significantly reducing the environmental impact of the global food system. Below is information about how you can identify ultra processed foods containing palm oil and other harmful ingredients in order to avoid them – for your own health and the health of the planet.

#Palmoil and #meat are ultra-processed unhealthy foods that are harmful to health and harmful to the planet. Here’s how to avoid them. Be #vegan for the animals, #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

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Ultra processed foods containing #palmoil #meat and #dairy are harmful to health and linked to chronic disease and mortality. Here’s how to avoid them for environmental and #health reasons #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

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There are more than 7,000 edible plant species which could be consumed for food. But today, 90% of global energy intake comes from 15 crop species, with more than half of the world’s population relying on just three cereal crops: rice, wheat and maize.

The rise of ultra-processed foods is likely playing a major role in this ongoing change, as our latest research notes. Thus, reducing our consumption and production of these foods offers a unique opportunity to improve both our health and the environmental sustainability of the food system.

Food agriculture is a major driver of environmental damage and ecocide

Agriculture is a major driver of environmental change. It is responsible for one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions and about 70% of freshwater use. It also uses 38% of global land and is the largest driver of biodiversity loss.

While research has highlighted how western diets containing excessive calories and livestock products tend to have large environmental impacts, there are also environmental concerns linked to ultra-processed foods.

The impacts of these foods on human health are well described, but the effects on the environment have been given less consideration. This is surprising, considering ultra-processed foods are a dominant component of the food supply in high-income countries (and sales are rapidly rising through low and middle-income countries too).

Our latest research, led by colleagues in Brazil, proposes that increasingly globalised diets high in ultra-processed foods come at the expense of the cultivation, manufacture and consumption of “traditional” foods.

How to spot ultra-processed foods

Ultra-processed foods are a group of foods defined as “formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, that result from a series of industrial processes”.

They typically contain cosmetic additives and little or no whole foods. You can think of them as foods you would struggle to create in your own kitchen. Examples include confectionery, soft drinks, chips, pre-prepared meals and restaurant fast-food products.

In contrast with this are “traditional” foods – such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, preserved legumes, dairy and meat products – which are minimally processed, or made using traditional processing methods.

While traditional processing, methods such as fermentation, canning and bottling are key to ensuring food safety and global food security. Ultra-processed foods, however, are processed beyond what is necessary for food safety.

Australians have particularly high rates of ultra-processed food consumption. These foods account for 39% of total energy intake among Australian adults. This is more than Belgium, Brazil, Columbia, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico and Spain – but less than the United States, where they account for 57.9% of adults’ dietary energy.

According to an analysis of the 2011-12 Australian Health Survey (the most recent national data available on this), the ultra-processed foods that contributed the most dietary energy for Australians aged two and above included ready-made meals, fast food, pastries, buns and cakes, breakfast cereals, fruit drinks, iced tea and confectionery.

What are the environmental impacts?

Ultra-processed foods also rely on a small number of crop species, which places burden on the environments in which these ingredients are grown.

Maize, wheat, soy and oil seed crops (such as palm oil) are good examples. These crops are chosen by food manufacturers because they are cheap to produce and high yielding, meaning they can be produced in large volumes.

Also, animal-derived ingredients in ultra-processed foods are sourced from animals which rely on these same crops as feed.

The rise of convenient and cheap ultra-processed foods has replaced a wide variety of minimally-processed wholefoods including fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, meat and dairy. This has reduced both the quality of our diet and food supply diversity.

In Australia, the most frequently used ingredients in the 2019 packaged food and drink supply were sugar (40.7%), wheat flour (15.6%), vegetable oil (12.8%) and milk (11.0%).

Some ingredients used in ultra-processed foods such as cocoa, sugar and some vegetable oils are also strongly associated with biodiversity loss.

What can be done?

The environmental impact of ultra-processed foods is avoidable. Not only are these foods harmful, they are also unnecessary for human nutrition. Diets high in ultra-processed foods are linked with poor health outcomes, including heart disease, type-2 diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer and depression, among others.

To counter this, food production resources across the world could be re-routed into producing healthier, less processed foods. For example, globally, significant quantities of cereals such as wheat, maize and rice are milled into refined flours to produce refined breads, cakes, donuts and other bakery products.

These could be rerouted into producing more nutritious foods such as wholemeal bread or pasta. This would contribute to improving global food security and also provide more buffer against natural disasters and conflicts in major breadbasket areas.

Other environmental resources could be saved by avoiding the use of certain ingredients altogether.

Demand for palm oil (a common ingredient in ultra-processed foods, and associated with deforestation in Southeast Asia) could be significantly reduced through consumers shifting their preferences towards healthier foods.

Reducing your consumption of ultra-processed foods is one way by which you can reduce your environmental footprint, while also improving your health.

Kim Anastasiou, Research Dietitian (CSIRO), PhD Candidate (Deakin University), Deakin University; Mark Lawrence, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University; Michalis Hadjikakou, Lecturer in Environmental Sustainability, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University, and Phillip Baker, Research Fellow, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Deakin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

ENDS

Take Action in Five Ways

1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

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2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

Read more

Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

Read more

Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

Read more

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

Read more

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

Read more

How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

Read more

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

#BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #brandBoycotts #consumerBoycott #consumerRights #dairy #deforestation #diet #health #meat #News #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmOilFree #palmoil #plantBasedDiet #vegan #veganism

10 reasons why ecolabels & commodity certification will never be a solution for importing tropical deforestation

In 2022, 71 environmental and #humanrights groups from around the world wrote to the EU Commission to warn that certification schemes and ecolabels were not sufficient to prevent human rights abuses and deforestation from entering the European Union. Although fast forward to 2025 and lobbyists have again watered down the #EUDR and #CSDDD, what the future holds is anybody’s guess!

In the UK, industry lobbyists including Ferrero and serial greenwashing outfit Orangutan Land Trust watered down the UK’s commitment to not importing deforestation into the UK. The new trade deal with #Malaysia paves the way for mass importation of palm oil ecocide.

#RSPO and #FSC have been shown for decades to be ineffective and corrupt. They have failed in preventing #corruption, human rights abuses, illegal #landgrabbing, #violence, #deforestation, #ecocide and species #extinction.

So here are 10 reasons why the world should not rely on weak and ineffective certification schemes like MSC, RSPO and FSC to enforce their own zero deforestation mandate. Originally published by GRAIN

https://vimeo.com/724165395

#Ecolabels eg. #RSPO #FSC do not prevent #deforestation. They have failed for decades and instead are only weak #greenwashing tools! Help rainforests, rainforest animals and rainforest peoples. #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🩸🚜🤮🚫 #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/06/18/10-reasons-why-ecolabels-commodity-certification-are-not-a-solution-to-stop-the-eu-importing-tropical-deforestation/

@EU_Commission should not trust #ecolabels: e.g. @RSPOtweets @FSC_IC to prevent #deforestation. Decades of failure to stop #humanrights abuses #deforestation shows their deep systemic weaknesses #Boycottpalmoil 🌴☠️🧐🚫 #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/06/18/10-reasons-why-ecolabels-commodity-certification-are-not-a-solution-to-stop-the-eu-importing-tropical-deforestation/

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• 1. Certification is not designed to achieve the main objective of the regulation – preventing deforestation and other harms
• 2. Certification does not provide the information needed to comply with the EU regulation
• 3. Certification does not provide guarantees for the legality of the product
• 4. Certification does not identify or prevent harms. Audit teams lack time and expertise
• 5. Certification bodies and their auditors are not independent from the company they certify
• 6. Prevention of environmental and social harm cannot be outsourced.
• 7. Certification cannot guarantee Free, Prior and Informed Consent or prevent land grabbing of indigenous land
• 8. Certification provides opportunities for greenwashing and increases vested interests in and corporate power over natural resources.
• 9. Certification promotes the expansion of industrial agriculture and thereby prevents the transition needed to halt deforestation
• 10. Certification directs resources towards a million-dollar certification industry
• Signatories: 71 environmental and human rights NGOs

Considering the shortcomings of certification schemes that the European Commission itself has documented, we are deeply troubled by the current arguments coming from industry players advocating for a stronger role for certification in the regulation, including a way for companies to use these systems as proof of compliance with binding EU rules. Below are ten reasons why this should not happen.

1. Certification is not designed to achieve the main objective of the regulation – preventing deforestation and other harms

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The EC’s own Commission Staff Working Document Impact Assessment (hereafter EC Impact Assessment) concludes that “the consensus is that [voluntary certification] schemes on their own have not been able to provide the changes needed to prevent deforestation”. This is the position defended by the European Parliament and by most NGOs. Certification schemes do not have a deforestation standard, or the standard does not meet the deforestation definition as proposed in the anti-deforestation regulation. For example, because companies are allowed to clear forests to establish plantations and remediate or compensate with conservation elsewhere.

Numerous studies conducted by WWF, FSCWatch, and Greenpeace and academic studies on Indonesia, have additionally concluded that certification on its own has not helped companies meet their commitments to exclude deforestation from their supply chains.

This led some actors such as WWF to lose faith in certification scheme Roundtable of Responsible Soy (RTRS), not only due to limited uptake, but more specifically, because in biomes where soy is produced, zero-deforestation commitments have so far failed to reduce deforestation. In support of this finding, the Dutch supermarket industry representative (CBL) stated that RTRS “has not appeared to be sufficient to halt [deforestation and conversion] developments and accelerate the transition to a sustainable soy chain”.

“Certification (or verification) schemes may, in some cases, contribute to achieving compliance with the due diligence requirement, however the use of certification does not automatically imply compliance with due diligence obligations. There is abundant literature on certification schemes shortcomings in terms of governance, transparency, clarity of standards, and reliability of monitoring systems”.

2. Certification does not provide the information needed to comply with the EU regulation

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It does not create transparency of the supply chain or provide information on the geographical origin

As indicated in Article 8 of the Proposal, “because deforestation is linked to land-use change, monitoring requires a precise link between the commodity or product placed on or exported from the EU market and the plot of land where it was grown or raised.” Most certification schemes, however, require only a minimal level of traceability and transparency.

As indicated in the EC’s Study On Certification And Verification Schemes In The Forest Sector, schemes make use of Chain of Custody (CoC) models, but very few apply a traceability system, making it difficult to track the claims of certification, from the forest to the end buyer. One of the most common CoC models used is Mass Balance. This model allows uncertified and untraceable supplies to be physically mixed with certified supplies and end up in EU supply chains. For the most part, certification schemes do not include the systematic ability to verify transactions of volumes, species, and qualities between entities, thus leaving the systems vulnerable to manipulation and fraud.

3. Certification does not provide guarantees for the legality of the product

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Certification schemes do not have the authority to confirm or enforce compliance with national laws precisely because they are voluntary.

Article 3 in the proposed anti-deforestation regulation states that products
are prohibited on the European market if they are not “produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production”.

However, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), for example, has explicitly stated its standards are voluntary and “do not extend to enforcing or confirming the legal standing of a company’s use of land (which is a mandate only held by the national authority)”.

4. Certification does not identify or prevent harms. Audit teams lack time and expertise

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According to the EC “labour, environmental and human rights laws will need to be taken into account when assessing compliance” and identifying harms. However, multiple reports by Friends of the Earth Netherlands, the Environmental Investigation Agency, and ECCHR, reveal that auditing firms responsible for checking compliance are fundamentally failing to identify and mitigate unsustainable practices within certification schemes due to lack of time and lack of expertise. Proper audits on social and human rights issues require extensive consultation to gain full community perspectives on land use, conflicts, or environmental harm. Certification Body (CB) procedures do not allow for this (due to financial resources).

RSPO’s own analysis reads that “the credibility of the RSPO certification scheme has been consistently undermined by documentation of poor practice, and concerns of the extent to which the Assurance System is being implemented”.

Oppressed and stretched NGO groups and communities in the global South spend time and resources on these consultation processes. They face backlash for speaking out during consultations without any guarantee that their input is included in the certification assessment. The EU should not become complicit in exploitation of rightsholders and stakeholders in their monitoring role.

5. Certification bodies and their auditors are not independent from the company they certify

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The lack of independent audits, considered to be key in ensuring the robustness of certification, was highlighted in the EC Impact Assessment as a key weakness of private certification schemes.

If clients (businesses) hire, supervise, and pay audit firms, they are exposed to a structural risk of conflict of interest, which may lead to a lower level of control.

Previous studies by Friends of the Earth, IUCN, RAN, and Environmental Investigation Agency have shown that, for example in the palm oil industry, when auditors and certification companies are directly hired by an audited company, independence is inhibited and the risk of violations increases.

Also, auditor dependence on company services such as transport and accommodation is problematic. The EC adds to this that these systems are sensitive to fraud given that certified companies may easily mislead their auditors even if the audit is conducted with the greatest care and according to all procedures.

“For example, a company may be selling products containing a volume of “certified” timber material that exceeds the volume of certified raw material that they are buying.”

6. Prevention of environmental and social harm cannot be outsourced, particularly because certification bodies are not liable for harms in the plantations they certify

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The EU anti-deforestation regulation requires that operators shall exercise due diligence prior to placing relevant commodities on the Union market. Private certification may, in some cases, facilitate compliance with this requirement.

However, as reiterated by German human rights law firm ECCHR the control of compliance is outsourced to private certification bodies, in an unregulated audit and certification market, where CBs are not liable for potential harm.

This leads to inability to distinguish unreliable audits from reliable ones and to competition without rules, setting in motion a ‘race to the bottom’. Certification initiatives have increasingly received complaints for lack of proper due diligence.

For instance, the UK OECD National Contact Point has recently found that Bonsucro breached the Guidelines in relation to due diligence and leverage when reaccepting MPG-T as a member, and the Netherlands NCP handled a complaint about ING’s due diligence policies and practices regarding palm oil.

The OECD guidelines confirm that certification is not a proxy for due diligence, as well as various governments. As echoed by the EC Impact Assessment, “maintaining operators’ responsibility for correctly implementing due diligence obligations when they use certification, aims at ensuring that authorities remain empowered to monitor and sanction incompliant behaviour, as the reliability of those [certification] systems has repeatedly been challenged by evidence on the ground.”

7. Certification cannot guarantee Free, Prior and Informed Consent or prevent land grabbing of indigenous land

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Indigenous Peoples and local communities have a recognised role in preserving the lands they own and manage, but insecure land tenure is a major driver of deforestation and forest degradation.

Certification bodies commit to investigating whether lands are subject to customary rights of indigenous peoples and whether land transfers have been developed with Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

However, assessing whether land user rights and consultation rights were respected needs to consider the historical context, a multi-actor perspective and deep understanding of local conflicts. Considering the apparent low level of knowledge of auditors on human rights and legal issues, assessing prior land use and conflicts is an impossible task for a team of international auditors with limited time.

In Malaysia communities are often not consulted before the issuance of the logging licences. MTCS certified concessions encroach on indigenous territories while the judiciary recognised indigenous customary land rights are a form of property rights protected by the Federal Constitution.

Additionally, certification schemes failed on numerous occasions to address complaints by communities whose land was taken by palm oil companies, including the case of oil palm giant Sime Darby in Indonesia and Socfin in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Certification will not lead to redress or resolution of problems linked to EU operators.

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels

Claiming a brand or commodity is green based on unreliable, ineffective endorsements or eco-labels such as the RSPO, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or FairTrade coffee and cocoa. Greenwashing: Fake Labels and fake certifications Ecolabels are…

Keep reading

8. Certification provides opportunities for greenwashing and increases vested interests in and corporate power over natural resources.

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Critics have argued that improving the image of forest and ecosystem risk commodities stimulates demand. Certification risks enabling destructive businesses to continue operating as usual and expand their practices, thereby increasing the harm.

“If certification on its own is unable to guarantee that commodity production
is entirely free of deforestation or human rights abuses, there is little to suggest that using certification as a tool for proving compliance with legal requirements could solve the issues in supply chains and fulfil the legislation’s objectives.

In this context, recognising a particular certification scheme as a proof of compliance removes any incentive to improve the scheme or to replace it with a more reliable alternative, effectively contributing to the institutionalisation of greenwashing.”

For example, a number of recent logging industry scandals suggest that the Forest Stewardship Council label has at times served merely to “greenwash” or “launder” trafficking in illegal timber, compelling NGOs to demand systemic change. The difference between certified and non-certified plantations in South East Asia was not significant.

9. Certification promotes the expansion of industrial agriculture and thereby prevents the transition needed to halt deforestation

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This prevents the transition towards community-based forest management and agro-ecology, with food sovereignty as a leading principle

There are multiple drivers of deforestation, but the evidence is clear in pointing to industrial agricultural expansion as one of the most important. Ultimately, certification initiatives fail to challenge the ideology underpinning the continuation of industrial commodity crop production, and can instead serve to greenwash
further agro-commodity expansion.

Corporations, along with their certifications, continue to seek legitimacy through a ‘feed the world’ narrative.

The “expansion is the only way”argument has long since been discredited by international institutions such as FAO; we produce enough to feed the projected world populations, much of this coming from small-scale peasant producers using a fraction of the resources. Moreover, as smallholders are directly impacted by deforestation and often depend on large operators and are hereby
forced to expand agricultural land and degrading their direct environment, they are therefore an essential part of the solution.

10. Certification directs resources towards a million-dollar certification industry

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While community and smallholder forest and agriculture management are extremely underfunded.

As explained by the EC Impact Assessment, private certification can be a costly process and resources spent to certify operations and to support the various schemes’ managerial structures could be used for other ends. Considering that smallholders represent a large share of producers in the relevant sectors, they also represent a crucial part of the solution to deforestation.

The EU should stop financing and promoting improvements in a certification system, benefiting industrial forest and plantation companies, that has been proven to fail.

It would be a more effective use of public and private resources to pay smallholders adequately for their products and adhere to their calls if they seek technical or financial support.

To conclude, building on these arguments, we foresee that if decision makers give in to the lobby from industry and certification’s role is reconsidered or promoted in the current proposal, the EU anti-deforestation regulation will not deliver, as it will not only lose its potential to provide information needed to comply with the regulation but lose its ability to curb deforestation and forest degradation all together.

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Signatories: 71 environmental and human rights NGOs

International

Global Witness
ClientEarth
Environmental Paper Network
International
GRAIN
Global Forest Coalition
Forest Peoples Programme

Indonesia

Friends of the Earth Indonesia; WALHI
Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat
Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan
Hukum Indonesia
Pantau Gambut
WALHI Papua
Teraju Foundation
Lingkar Hijau
KRuHA
Lepemawil, Mimika, Papua
PADI Indonesia

Cameroon

Synaparcam
Centre pour l’Environnement
et le Développment Chile
Colectivo Vientosur

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ERA; Friends of the Earth Nigeria

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Here are some other ways you can help by using your wallet as a weapon and joining the #Boycott4Wildlife

What is greenwashing?

Read more

Why join the #Boycott4Wildlife?

Read more

Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels

Read more

The Counterpunch: Consumer Solutions To Fight Extinction

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Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded

Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.

Palm Oil Detectives is 100% self-funded

Palm Oil Detectives is completely self-funded by its creator. All hosting and website fees and investigations into brands are self-funded by the creator of this online movement. If you like what I am doing, you and would like me to help meet costs, please send Palm Oil Detectives a thanks on Ko-Fi.

#animalExtinction #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #consumerBoycott #corruption #CSDDD #deforestation #ecocide #ecolabels #ethicalConsumerism #EUDR #extinction #FSC #greenwashing #humanRights #HumanRights #landgrabbing #Malaysia #MSC #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #violence

Boycotts A Great Weapon to Fight Ecocidal Corporates

Bill Laurance, James Cook University

Campaigns and boycotts get the attention of large corporations, because they hit them where it hurts: their reputation and market share.

Campaigns and #boycotts against corrupt commodities like #palmoil and #meat are effective in getting attention of corporate giants because they hit their wallets and sully their reputations #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🪔🔥🙊⛔️#Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2022/02/27/boycotts-are-a-crucial-weapon-to-fight-environment-harming-firms/

In October 2000, I was driving through downtown Boise, Idaho, and nearly careered off the road. Just in front of me was a giant inflatable Godzilla-like dinosaur, well over 30m tall. It was towering over the headquarters of Boise Cascade, one of North America’s biggest wood products corporations. For years, the firm had been tangling with environmental groups who blamed the company’s logging practices for declines in the extent of old-growth forests across the globe.

The huge inflatable reptile was the inspired idea of the Rainforest Action Network, who used it to label Boise Cascade a dinosaur of the timber industry. The blow-up dinosaur was headline news across the United States and the label stuck. Although Boise Cascade tried to deny it was yielding to environmental pressure, it ultimately agreed to phase out all of its old-growth wood products.

Environmental campaigns such as this one have become an increasingly important arrow in the quiver of conservation groups, for a very good reason. The world has become hyper-corporatised and globalised, with the result that, as I reported in 2008, deforestation is now substantially driven by major industries rather than by the exploits of poor people trying to make a living off the land.

Last-ditch tactics

Boycotts are typically a last resort. The Rainforest Action Network tried for years to nudge, cajole and finally pressure Boise Cascade to phase out old-growth products, without success. Its gentler tactics worked fine with other big corporations such as Home Depot and Lowe’s, but it took a gigantic dinosaur to get Boise Cascade’s attention.

Globally, some of the most impressive environmental achievements have come via boycotts, or at least the threat of them. Just in the past year, four of the world’s biggest forest-destroying corporations have announced new “no deforestation” policies in response to such environmental pressures.

Among the worst of these was Asia Pulp & Paper, whose reputation had become so synonymous with rainforest destruction that the retailers selling its products began fleeing in droves. Today, the corporation has ostensibly turned over a new leaf and even thanked Greenpeace – one of its most persistent critics – for helping it to see the light.

Across the globe, boycotts have helped to rein in predatory behaviour by timber, oil palm, soy, seafood and other corporations. They have led to impressive environmental benefits.

Banning boycotts?

But now, the power of boycotts might be on the brink of being reined in, after the federal government floated the idea of banning organised boycotts of companies on environmental grounds.

The move has sparked apoplexy among free-speech advocates, and came as a surprise even to observers whose expectations had already been lowered by the Commonwealth’s plan to devolve environmental powers to the states and territories.

The Boycott4Wildlife is a boycott on brands directly involved in tropical deforestation (and therefore animal extinction)

Parliamentary agriculture secretary Richard Colbeck said the move would be aimed at “dishonest campaigns”, singling out the campaign against furniture retailer Harvey Norman, which activists accuse of logging native forests.

“They can say what they like, they can campaign about what they like, they can have a point of view, but they should not be able to run a specific business-focused or market-focused campaign, and they should not be able to say things that are not true,” Colbeck told Guardian Australia.

At odds with free speech

Predictably, environmental groups are unimpressed. Reece Turner, a forests campaigner with Greenpeace-Australia, told me:

This policy is at odds with the Liberal party’s professed commitment to uninhibited free speech. The Coalition is going to remarkable extremes to protect big industry from campaigns that are essentially focused on greater transparency of business practices. These campaigns are designed to inform consumer choices – something the Liberal party should be supporting.

One of the more notable aspects of the proposed ban is that it could directly conflict with the Coalition’s stated environmental priorities – one of which is a desire to slow global rainforest destruction as a means to combat global warming.

Of all the environmental actions undertaken to date, boycotts have probably had the greatest direct benefit for rainforests.

As an aside, the Coalition government has recently struggled to find a consistent line on both environmentalism and free speech. Straight after taking office it scuttled the Climate Commission, and is currently fighting to repeal a raft of other carbon policies. Yet it has also announced that Australia will use this year’s Brisbane G20 summit as a “catalyst” to help China, India, Europe and the United States to cut their carbon emissions.

At this early stage, it’s difficult to say whether or not the proposed ban on environmental boycotts will solidify into firm Coalition policy or merely fade away, its proponents having realised this could be too polarising an idea. Let’s hope for the latter. This is a scheme that deserves to go the way of the dinosaurs.

Bill Laurance, Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

How can I help the #Boycott4Wildlife?

1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you or to help pay for ongoing running costs.

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