Carolina Rotzinger Ballesteros
Professor Maria M. Garcia
Persuasive Essay
09/29/19
Rang-tan efforts to stop rainforest deforestation
According to Greenpeace organization, twenty-five orangutans lose their life every
day due to rainforest deforestation caused by palm oil production. Palm oil is a vegetable
oil derived from the mesocarp, or middle layer of oil palms. The vast majority of the world’s
palm oil is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia. Of the total palm oil produced each year,
over 70% is used in foods and another 24% is used for consumer products such as
cosmetics and candles. (1) Greenpeace launched a campaign to stop companies from
producing and distributing “dirty palm oil”. Simply put, “dirty” palm oil implies that the oil
has been produced at the cost of destroying the rain forests. Greenpeace advocates that
there are ways to produce the oil without deforesting the world’s richest ecosystems, and
they’re absolutely right. Not only does this rampant deforestation make the uphill battle
against climate change tougher, but many living species and their natural habitats are
being destroyed as well.
Palm oil is present in so many products that we consume on a daily basis and may
not even be aware of. The words “palm oil” do not appear on many ingredients sections
