Issue: ‘Burger King to stop buying palm oil’

Sept. 4, Online : Environmentalists on Saturday praised Burger King’s decision to stop buying palm oil from an Indonesian company accused of destroying rainforests.
The US hamburger chain giant — which recently sealed a deal to sell itself for US$3.26 billion to 3G Capital — said Friday that it was canceling its contract with PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology over concerns it had not adopted sustainable farming practices.
It cited an independent audit that found the company’s plantations had violated several regulations, including planting in some peatland swamps and secondary forests.
“These practices are inconsistent with our corporate responsibility commitments,” Burger King said in a statement on Facebook as it joined a growing list of multinationals that have broken ties with Sinar Mas.
Burger King did not say what its alternate source of palm oil – used for frying – would be.
The environmental group Greenpeace, which has accused Sinar Mas companies of tearing down forests that are home to orangutans and other endangered species, welcomed the move.
Bustar Maitar, the group’s regional forest campaigner, urged other major corporate consumers like Cargill, Pizza Hut and Dunkin’ Donuts to do the same.

Your comments:

This is where I see developed nations as hypocritical. It was OK for them (Western countries) to chop down trees and burn them (they still do so every year in the US and Australia) when they were developing their country, but not when ASEAN countries do the same (by the way we do replace trees with trees, those palm trees are not made of plastic).
They absorb CO2 and releases O2 just as the rainforest does. (Something that Western countries can’t claim for the huge factories they built by chopping down their limited trees.)
They say the rain forests belong to the world not just Indonesia or Malaysia.
Finally, Burger King? If Burger King really cared for people’s well-being and the environment, they would stop selling burgers, fries and sodas. Sell salad and fruit juice instead. It is just a publicity ploy. Burger King bosses make me sick.
Pak SBY, if Burger King do not think Indonesian products are good enough for them, then ask them to pack up their business in Indonesia and sell burgers just in Western countries.
Why don’t all ASEAN countries that are exporters of palm oil boycott Burger King and ask them to leave this region. ASEAN will be healthier without Burger King!
Lance
Jakarta
 
Many countries and international NGOs ask Indonesia to maintain its forests.
But many countries in Europe and America keep producing CO2, and then Indonesia’s and several other countries’ forests absorb it. What contribution have Western countries shared to avoid global warming? They should absorb CO2 with their forests too, not just Indonesia’s.
Bambang
Kalimantan

Palm oil plantations give employment to Indonesian people.
How much will Burger King’s corporate social responsibility spending in Indonesia compensate if there are no more palm oil
plantations?
Tell the US and Europe to eliminate their carbon input into the world.
Can anyone give me a list of multinational companies that sell products in Indonesia, apart from Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donuts, which use palm oil?
I will start boycotting them and will tell everyone not to buy their products. The rainforests of Indonesia don’t belong to the people of Indonesia alone; they belong to the world, as we will all feel the impact of what happens to it. We only have one planet, so we all should look after it.
Jay Tee
Jakarta

When will the Indonesian government and Indonesian companies understand that they are part of a global economy and what they do to harm the environment will have local consequences?
Andrew
Jakarta