Dying for a Biscuit
Reporter Raphael Rowe journeys into the rainforest of Borneo, where he uncovers evidence of palm oil companies developing plantations on protected land.
If consumers knew that buying their favourite chocolate bar contributed to the extinction of the orangutan and fuelled global warming, would they still treat themselves?
The UK consumes huge amounts of palm oil, an ingredient found in scores of products including biscuits, fish fingers, cosmetics and toiletries. Reporter Raphael Rowe journeys into the rainforest of Borneo, where he uncovers evidence of palm oil companies cutting down trees illegally and developing plantations on protected land, the deforestation releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the global environment.
As the forest disappears, at a rate of two football pitches every minute, so too does the habitat of man's closest cousins, the critically endangered orangutan.
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