Local teens crusading against animal-killing palm oil

Posted 6/24/16

Jade Santiago and Justin Sipe are environmentally-conscious students at Saul High School who are trying to inform as many people as possible about the devastating long-term effects of palm oil on …

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Local teens crusading against animal-killing palm oil

Posted
Jade Santiago and Justin Sipe are environmentally-conscious students at Saul High School who are trying to inform as many people as possible about the devastating long-term effects of palm oil on both people and wildlife. (Photo by Tara Campbell) Jade Santiago and Justin Sipe are environmentally-conscious students at Saul High School who are trying to inform as many people as possible about the devastating long-term effects of palm oil on both people and wildlife. (Photo by Tara Campbell)

by Jade Santiago

Jade Santiago and Justin Sipe are students at Saul High School in Roxborough who are working hard to inform people about the negative impacts the palm oil industry has on the planet.

Palm oil is a big part of people’s daily lives. It’s an ingredient in our detergents, cosmetics such as lipstick, soaps, cleaning products and even packaged breads and cereals. At W.B. Saul Agricultural High School, palm oil is used in our cleaning products — things like soaps, hand sanitizers and building cleaners — as well as the snacks we sell in the vending machine and school store like chips, candy and snack bars. According to research done by the Philadelphia Zoo, there are over 20 different names for palm oil, including Cetyl Palmitate and Sodium Kernelate. As you can see, palm oil is everywhere. This is a big problem because it comes at a huge — and negative — cost to the planet.

Palm oil is grown in Africa, Asia, North America and South America. The majority of palm oil plantations are located in Malaysia and Indonesia. These regions are home to some of the most biodiverse tropical rainforests in the world. Over 80 percent of these forests are being destroyed to make room for palm oil plantations (equivalent to 300 football fields per hour)!

Burning forests is a common method for clearing room for the plantations. The fires release harmful carbon emissions into the atmosphere, which contribute to air pollution and climate change. These forests are home to many rare species, including Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, tigers and pygmy elephants. Because of deforestation, these animals are losing their homes and being driven towards extinction.

I first learned about the harmful effects of palm oil through my job at the Philadelphia Zoo. I work in the public education program, so I had to learn a lot in order to educate visitors. Before working at the zoo, I never realized the negative effects of palm oil and the amount of products it’s in. Finding out that species like the orangutans could be extinct within the next five to 10 years and Sumatran tigers in less than three years because of our palm oil use is horrific. I believe the world has a natural balance and that without these animals this balance will be affected, which in turn affects us all. The amount of pollution being created by deforestation contributes to global warming, which has a negative impact on animals and people alike.

In response to this crisis, at Saul, along with my partner Justin Sipe, we have launched a project called The Palm Oil Trade. Our goal is to raise awareness about the negative impacts of using palm oil and also to raise money to change Saul’s cleaning and food products to sustainable alternatives that don’t have palm oil in them.

Our hope is that if Saul can make this shift, other schools will see it’s possible and be inspired to do the same. As students of an agricultural school who are majoring in Environmental Science, we believe it’s important for people to understand the impact the products they use have on the environment, both now and for future generations. Palm oil is doing so much damage, but we’re committed to spreading the word in hopes of building a global movement for sustainability.

To purchase eco-friendly products, you can visit companies such as Wave Production, Palm Oil Scorecard and RSPO organization.

* This article is reprinted, with permission, from The Shuttle, the monthly newspaper published by Weavers Way.

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