Fonterra slams Greenpeace
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10678735

Fonterra should divert their inept spokesperson to other duties and draw the attention of their legal department to this statement:

“Fonterra’s use of palm kernel fuels rainforest destruction”

1. Greenpeace’s parent body attributes rainforest destruction to timber milling.

2. Palm kernal is a waste product of the (huge) palm oil industry.

So if we really want to drive planting of more palm oil plantations, we should apply an ETS to New Zealand dairy farmers. But I suppose Greenpeace would protest violently against any such stupidity…….

http://tvnz.co.nz/content/2994732/423466/article.html?page=1&pagesize=5

I note that Greenpeace contradict themselves in their own report “How the palm oil industry is cooking the climate”,

From the report:

“Indonesia has destroyed over 28 million hectares of forest since 1990, largely in the name of land conversion for plantations. Yet the area of oil palm or pulp wood plantations established in this period was only 9 million hectares. This clearly implies that most of the companies obtained permits to convert the forest only to gain access to the timber. Rainforest continues to be destroyed for plantations because of the financial value of the timber”

So timber milling is the main reason for deforestation – not palm oil, according to Greenpeace.

From “How the palm oil industry is cooking the climate”,
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/palm-oil-cooking-the-climate.pdf

“Forest ecosystems currently store about one and a half times as much carbon as is present in the atmosphere. Without drastic cuts in GHG emissions, climate change – which is in part driven by forest destruction – may soon tip these carbon stores into sources of emissions. Resulting temperature increase could disrupt ecosystems in ways that provoke yet more greenhouse emissions, potentially leading to further acceleration of climate change.”

Note the use of the obligatory words “may”, “could” and “potentially”.

From “How the palm oil industry is cooking the climate”, Greenpeace:
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/palm-oil-cooking-the-climate.pdf

“This report shows how, through growing demand for palm oil, the world’s largest food, cosmetic and biofuel industries are driving the wholesale destruction of peatlands and rainforests. These companies include Unilever, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble, who between them account for a significant volume of global palm oil use, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia”

No mention of Fonterra in that document (I searched).

Fonterra doesn’t use palm kernel directly either, it is the dairy farmers (cooperatives) that use it as a feed supplement for the cows and the milk is then bought by Fonterra (cooperative entity). This is Greenpeace NZ’s mis-directed protest.

From your link above: “Also, palm kernel meal, a byproduct of palm oil, is used in the production of concentrated foods and as a supplement in animal food.”

If the nuts were not harvested for oil, I doubt there would be a kernel market; it would be uneconomic. There would certainly not be large scale deforestation specifically for the kernel market.

I live close to Port of Tauranga and regularly drive past the palm kernel importers shed (J, Swap). Fonterra has nothing to do with that operation

Maybe a biodiversity crime, but not a climate crime…

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37035

Environmentalists seem to often have a blind spot for the damage caused by their pet hobby horses. This is especially true of wind energy and biofuels, where reality is often left out of the argument.

I found the following description of palm kernel oil:

In comparison palm kernel oil, even though it comes from the same fruit, is very different from the oil obtained from the rest of the fruit. In fact, palm kernel oil resembles coco oil and is semi-solid or solid at room temperature. When it is eaten it produces a soft sensation in the mouth, similar to cacao. This makes palm kernel oil popular among chocolate lovers. Due to its neutral taste and long life, palm kernel oil can also be used as a substitute for cacao and fats found in milk.

Palm kernel oil is used in cream made from sugar, condensed milk and doughnut fillings. It is also found in biscuits and cakes giving them a softer texture and sweeter taste which lingers in the mouth. Palm kernel oil is also used to make special kinds of margarines and is found in ingredients used when baking cakes, croissants and bread, giving these products added volume, a soft texture and making them last longer. Palm kernel oil is also favoured when making sweets, cream for coffees and peanut butter.

Palm oil has been an important foodstuff in West Africa for several thousand years and is refined and broken down into countless ingredients in all kinds of food and non-food items we use daily without knowing.

See this page from Colombia.