Change how we shop and end our reliance on pernicious palm oil
logging gangs going in and raping the women and daughters of these native communities.” She recalls palm oil plantations where “tractors were lined up in a row to bring the jungle down as quickly as possible”. The loss of tree roots sees the soil drain into the rivers, turning the waters red and killing fish. Deforestation of what is, largely, peat jungle releases vast quantities of trapped carbon into the air, accelerating global warming.
Orang-u glad you saw me?
Ads such as Iceland’s can only help, says Rewcastle Brown. “It plugs into grassroots shoppers and gets that message across that we have a choice over what we buy,” she says. “And the publicity’s great. I’ve been banging on about this for 10 years but I had to damn well get a story that overthrew a government before I could get anywhere.”
The ad itself has proved controversial. On November 9, Iceland Foods tweeted: “You won’t see our Christmas advert on TV this year because it was banned. But we want to share Rang-tan’s story…” It wasn’t actually banned, just judged unfit, yet the furore sent it viral. James Corden shared the video, tweeting: “This commercial was banned from TV for being too political. Everyone should see it.”
The business move away from palm oils will cost Iceland £5 million but gen- erated generous publicity. This week it deployed animatronic orang-utan models in London to walk the streets.
“Come to Borneo and Sumatra,” says Galdikas. “Once you visit the habitat countries you are helping preserve orang-utans and other wildlife. It increases the importance of these animals through tourism, and tourism is a powerful money-generating industry. Or donate to Orang-utan Foundation.” Last orders at the last-chance saloon.