17 August 09

The rapid expansion of plantations growing palm oil is the single largest threat to the future of wild orang-utans.

Every hour, loggers are clearing an area of rainforest equivalent to 300 soccer fields so that even more oil palm can be planted.

This habitat loss is killing an estimated 1,000 orang-utans a year and displacing, injuring, and orphaning many more.

Australians are innocently contributing to this crisis when they go shopping, because palm oil is an invisible ingredient in our shopping trolleys.

Current food labelling legislation does not require manufacturers to list it on product labels, so products are able to list it as 'vegetable oil'.

Palm oil is in fact found in about 40% of manufactured foods sold in Australian supermarkets, so Australians are eating about 10kg of it a year without even knowing it is in their food.

Melbourne Zoo has launched a campaign to help save the lives of orang-utans in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra.

The  'Don't Palm Us Off' campaign aims to gain community support for legislative change to this labelling legislation.

Making it mandatory to list palm oil on labels would enable consumers to make an informed choice about which products they want to buy.

In addition to reducing demand for unsustainable palm oil production that is devastating orang-utan habitat, the Zoo's campaign also aims to increase consumer demand for sustainable palm oil which is produced without harm to wildlife.

The Zoo is asking members of the community to join the campaign by filling out a 'Don't Palm Us Off' postcard at the Zoo or signing the petition online.

All signatures and postcards will be included in the petition that Melbourne Zoo will submit to the authorities, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand.