Palm Oil: There’s a Bit of Orangutan Suffering in Every Drop

When I first volunteered at PETA, in addition to jamming letters in the franking machine, I spent a lot of time each day finding palm oil–free products to list in the vegetarian/vegan starter kit. Up until then, I’d had no idea how palm oil is affecting our planet and the animals in it. Palm oil is often sourced from the homes of endangered orangutans and many other forest-dwelling creatures. Greedy businesses cut down the trees and leave the animals homeless and starving to death. Friends of the Earth thinks that the situation is now so bad that orang-utans could be extinct in just 12 years. As people who care about animals, we all need to remember that veganism goes beyond the food on our plate. Not only is it about forgoing meat, eggs and milk, it’s also about making choices that won’t negatively affect animals in an indirect way.
I recently read that Mo Constantine from Lush is confronting these animal abusers head on. I already thought Lush were pretty cool after I realised lots of their products were vegan and none of them were tested on animals. I don’t think I lose any man points for admitting I washed my face with their soap around Christmas time because the money went to help foxes. I even got a massage bar and spent weeks subtly dropping hints to my girlfriend: “My back is really sore.” “I really could do with a back rub.” “It isn’t going to rub itself.” So now they’re making soap which will help keep myself and my conscience 100 per cent clean. This proves beyond a doubt that no one has to suffer for beauty – not you, not the Earth and certainly not animals.