Is it worth it?

Whatever their scientific name may be, these reptiles thought they had found a refuge in a palm oil plantation. Obviously they were wrong.

I challenge anyone to come up with a truly valid raison d’être for the existence of these plantations.

Sure, it temporarily improves the lives of local people – boosting their finances, having the kids attending school, all paid by big business. But for how long? What happens when the vast plantation areas become arid and more rain forest needs to be cleared, and the companies move on to a more profitable region? Come on, who are you kidding? It’s a quick money fix for the owners and the dirty politicians, nothing else.

This is hardcore exploitation of the indigenous peoples and their land. Did I just say their land? Sorry, let me rewind and ask you to think about it for a moment. This land – like any land – belongs to all of us, and all species living on it. Past, present and future. And that is how we will all be judged in the end.

Do we really have to have that much vegetable oil – even as medical science warns us about it? There’s already more than enough being produced in Europe and the US to cover the global need, without ever requiring a boost from Asia. But as prices plummet, the response from Southeast Asia is anything but ecologically sound: “We sell you cheap, lah, we all make a profit.”

A profit for whom? The ever-decreasing rain forests and their fast disappearing flora and fauna? The people that actually live there, at one with their environment? Our children, and our children’s children?

Take a moment to think about it. Then act as your heart guides you to.

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