Having watched David Attenborough’s Extinction programme, I have been shocked to find how many things we buy contain palm oil. Perhaps we have bought the same product for many years, when there was no palm oil in the original recipe, but insidiously, over time that ingredient and sometimes also soya have been added without our noticing it. So without intending to be, we are part of the demand for palm oil and soya, which is to a large degree responsible for the destruction of our precious rainforests.
How can we help to reduce the demand for palm oil? Why not join me in a Biscuit Boycott? You can start on an easy level or throw yourself in at the deep end!
Level 1: Look at the packaging on the biscuits you buy. If palm oil [or vegetable oil(palm)] is listed in the ingredients, do not buy it. Look for an alternative. Sometimes the supermarket own brands might be ok, sadly not ginger nuts in Waitrose or Tesco.
Level 2: Don’t buy any brands that have palm oil listed as an ingredient in any biscuits in their range.
Level 3: Join me in writing to CEO’s of the supermarkets you shop in. Perhaps also to the biscuit manufacturers themselves. Companies do listen to their customers and if enough people make the point that we would prefer to save what is left of the rainforest and its biodiversity than have a cheap biscuit, they will hopefully stop using it, thus reducing the demand.
I was also appalled to find that palm fat had been used in a loaf of bread bought from the instore bakery at Waitrose. Keep your eyes open!
Tina Mitchell
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