ACTION: Save the Chimps in Cameroon!

Worldwide demand for palm oil is on the rise, as millions of people use it for cooking, cosmetic and beauty products, and snack foods. Look at the ingredients list of any junk food package and the chances are pretty good it will contain palm oil.

Unfortunately, this demand for palm oil is driving deforestation, as the industry cuts down rainforests to create new palm plantations. Naturally, this is devastating for people, animals, and biodiversity.

Now, this industrial production of palm oil is threatening to ravage Africa. The next target: Cameroon. Herakles Farms, a US-based corporation, is currently planning to destroy a giant swath of rainforest in Cameroon, threatening the habitat of chimpanzees and the subsistence of Cameroonian farmers.

According to Greenpeace:

New science shows that the rainforest Herakles wants to destroy is home to wildlife like elephants, chimpanzees, and other endangered wildlife like the red colobus monkey. It also provides for the livelihoods of more than 14,000 Cameroonians who rely on the forest for small subsistence farming, many of whom strongly oppose the project.

Yet Herakles Farms’ CEO Bruce Wrobel refuses to acknowledge these facts, instead claiming that the company is aiming to help the community through economic development. But the facts on the ground tell a different story. The Herakles Farms project is simply the wrong project in the wrong place.

…That’s why we’re calling on a U.S. corporation, Herakles Farms, to halt their plans to plow down an area of chimp rainforest ten times larger than Manhattan to create a palm oil plantation in Cameroon.

Please take a moment to write the CEO of Herakles Farms and ask him to cancel the plans for this site and choose a different location for their palm oil plantations — one that doesn’t threaten people, chimps, or biodiversity.

You can submit your letter easily on this page at Greenpeace.org.

 

Bill Clinton & His Vegan Diet Make an Impression on AARP’s Joe Conason

After nearly dying from heart problems arising from years of a meat-heavy diet, former US president Bill Clinton was forced to make a change. His doctors recommended he eliminate all the meat and dairy from his diet. He has said that he was at first reluctant to do so, but gradually removed all the animal products from his diet — and now he’s thrilled with his diet and his newfound health.

Joe Conason of AARP magazine recently met (and dined) with President Clinton, and found the vegan meal and conversation was an eye-opening (and even mouth-watering) experience for him:

When Bill Clinton invited me to lunch in May, I knew better than to expect fried catfish or barbecued ribs. The former president is now a devoted vegan… and he has pursued a healthier way of life for more than three years. While I figured our lunch menu might be bland, that would be a small price to pay for private time with a world leader who is anything but.

As it happens, the fit, trim and sharply attired Clinton, whom I’ve come to know well during more than two decades covering his career, is his usual gregarious, charismatic self. But a bland menu? Not even close.

And President Clinton was happy to tout the benefits of his new diet:

I’ve stopped eating meat, cheese, milk, even fish. No dairy at all.” He smiled and yanked on his waistband. “I’ve lost more than 20 pounds so far, aiming for about 30 before Chelsea’s wedding. And I have so much more energy now! I feel great.

You can read the full article at the AARP website here.