If you were wondering if you, as an ordinary person, really had a voice that even big corporations could hear, two sisters aged 10 and 12 proved beyond a doubt that the answer is a resounding yes.
Both of them started a petition that convinced Kellogg’s to ban the use of palm oil in order to save orangutans and they shared their inspiring story in an interview here:
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Video credit: Rumble
Sisters Asha, 12, and Jia Fitzpatrick, 10, saw a documentary that detailed how deforestation occurs in order to make space for palm oil plantations, a practice that has devastated the ape population who live in those safe forests. The sisters then decided to stop eating cereal and started a petition directed at Kellogg.
Trees are where orangutans spend most of their time. This is why chronic deforestation has caused the deaths of more than 50,000 in Borneo and Sumatra. This has also orphaned a lot of young orangutans.
Palm oil is widely used in food but most notably, it’s also used in some Kellogg’s products.
In their change.org petition, Asha and Jia wrote: “We are sisters and we love orangutans.
“We were really upset when we saw the numbers being killed and orphaned every year are being increased by companies who want cheap palm oil – and it has to stop now.”
The petition soon got swelling of support in the form of more than 780,000 signatures, enough to catch the attention of Kellogg’s bosses. Company representatives met the sisters and promised that by 2025, 100% of its palm oil would be sustainably sourced.
The sisters’ mom, Harvinder Dhinsa, from Leighton Buzzard, Beds, said all of them were “really surprised” by the response.
She added: “They weren’t expecting such a commitment. I’m proud of them – it shows no matter how small you are you have a voice and people will listen.”
Alison Last, Kellogg’s spokeswoman, confirmed that the company had now “updated its global palm oil policy and launched its global deforestation policy.”
She said: “Kellogg’s is committed to working with its suppliers to source fully traceable palm oil that is produced in a manner that’s environmentally responsible, socially beneficial… which includes helping to mitigate deforestation.”
There are fewer than 120,000 orangutans that can be found in the wild, putting it on the World Wildlife Fund’s critically endangered list.
Replaced!