My favorite candy is eco- friendly, but not guilt free...
Trick or treat!
Have you ever heard of palm oil? Even if you haven’t, chances are you’ve ingested it.
It’s oil made from palm trees, and due to its often non-sustainable production is causing devastating deforestation and threatening the conservation of orangutan habitat in Indonesia and Malaysia.
How is innocent candy doing all that?
Orangutans live in rainforests. Rainforests are clear-cut for non-sustainable palm oil farms that grow and cut down trees in a uniform, systematic manner, leaving no tree canopies for orangutans to live in and often killing the animals when they become a “nusince”.
The good news is that a growing number of major companies are members of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and are committed to using certified sustainable palm oil.
Who are these wonderful people? (corporations are people too, or so I’ve been told.)
Nestle, Kellogg’s, PepsiCo (Frito Lay), Hershey’s, Mars, Walmart (Great Value Brand) and ConAgra are good choices as they are all members of the RSPO.
For a full list of candies committed to using certified sustainable palm oil visit Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Palm Oil Crisis.
What’s your favorite Halloween candy? Did it make the list?
