Orangutans are critically endangered, and the biggest threat to their continued existence comes from the agricultural sector, which has razed 55 percent of the species’ habitat in recent decades.
Logging companies clearing irreplaceable, old-growth jungle to claim more land for palm oil plantations have no compunction when it comes to flattening jungles despite the presence of orangutans hiding in the trees. The loggers often shoot the large apes on sight, leaving terrified, traumatized babies still clinging to their dead mothers, or taking them to sell as pets.
Of those left to die, the lucky babies are rescued before they starve and are brought to one of the many orangutan orphanages in Borneo and Sumatra, where they attend “school” to learn how to do everything from climb to forage. It takes at least eight years to teach them how to survive on their own, which is about the time it takes orangutan mothers to do the same job in the wild.
The unlucky babies end up as local pets, sold off to entertainment troupes or shipped off to places like Dubai, where wealthy clients will pay a premium for them.
So what is palm oil, and why are countries in Asia bulldozing ancient jungles and forests to clear room and make more plantations?
Per the WWF:
“Palm oil has been and continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino. This forest loss coupled with conversion of carbon rich peat soils are throwing out millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. There also remains some exploitation of workers and child labour. These are serious issues that the whole palm oil sector needs to step up to address because it doesn’t have to be this way.
…
Palm oil is in nearly everything – it’s in close to 50% of the packaged products we find in supermarkets, everything from pizza, doughnuts and chocolate, to deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and lipstick.”
Palm oil is in constant demand, and it’s an easy to grow, incredibly efficient crop. Indonesia and Malaysia, the only two countries in the world where orangutans exist, produce 85 percent of the world’s palm oil.
We share 97 percent of our DNA with orangutans, making the species our second-closest cousins from a genetic standpoint. Some studies claim orangutans are our closest relatives based on our phenotypical similarities.
Want to read more and learn how to help?
Here are some links to get you started. PITB is a big fan of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, which successfully pushed Jakarta’s municipal government to ban the incredibly cruel “topeng monyet” monkey street shows:
World Wildlife Fund: Orangutans
Jakarta Animal Aid Network
Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation
The Orangutan Project
Rainforest Trust
Pain In The Bud 
There is nothing in my house with palm oil. I look at labels all the time. Pizza? Not a chance. Too expensive first of all. And i make my own pizza dough. Me being a lousy cook it is pretty easy. If i buy pizza dough i look at label. Would you believe i make pizza from flour and greek yogurt? I suggest people look up recipes if you want to avoid palm oil. I refuse to contribute to this horror. I tell people about this and most do not give a shit.
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I wonder if the regular mom and pop New York pizza places use palm oil. The cheese is usually imported from one of a few different companies in Italy, but they make their own dough, which is part of what makes New York pizza so unique, with the NY water giving it a distinct taste, just like bagels.
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I consider the mom and pop pizza place two blocks away from me good pizza. Maybe opened nearly 60 years or more. As far as i know there is no palm oil. And they will sell you just the dough so you can make your own pizza to your liking. I caramelized some onions and put vegan sausage on. Everyone loved it.
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Yeah a lot of those places sell dough kits and sauce by the pint. There’s an old school Italian pork store near me that makes incredible sauce and eggplant parm.
That’s the thing about debating leaving New York. You just can’t get stuff like that elsewhere, and the places that try don’t get it right. I read about a restaurant in LA that had NYC tap water delivered regularly for their pizza and bread products, which probably made a huge difference in getting it right, but that’s gotta be expensive.
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My mom taught me well. I make my own tomato sauce. My parm is not too bad but will never taste like my moms. I make good tofu and cheese empanadas as they are gone in less than a day. Also my moms recipe. This was when i said TOFU?! Yuck. 30 years ago.
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Two websites i love. Kirbys Cravings and The Protein Chef. Super easy. No additives and you save so much money.
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Beware of WWF. Always have a look at these charities’ Board of Directors before donating.
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They do look a bit like old men. I really don’t understand how people can keep wild animals as pets then abandon them when they remain wild animals. There is no empathy at all
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I’ve written posts on this blog about the pet monkey trade, which is absolutely horrific, and the bizarre audience that exists online for videos of monkeys being tortured, especially baby monkeys.
It’s hard to read, but it is reality. The pet trade alone is brutal: babies are literally ripped out of the arms of their shrieking mothers, who fight like hell to hold onto them. Then the babies are sold, at days old, to “owners” who will keep them about 18 to 24 months, when they go from docile and cute (but depressed) infants to raging juveniles who don’t understand why they can’t act like monkeys and why they’re living in a world that makes no sense to them.
It’s an extremely depressing rabbit hole to go down, which is why I don’t write about it often, but it hasn’t stopped, and Youtube, Facebook and IG don’t seem to care that people use their platforms to encourage animal abuse.
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And yet we are considered the more advanced species
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