More on pitcher plants and palm oil free cookies…
Category: Oil Palm Plantations, Pondok Ambung Research Station | Date: Jan 14 2008 | By: admin
Dear Sheryl, Teresa and F J Pechir,
Thank you for your questions.
The water in pitcher plant holds a variety of detritus and insects, however it appears the plants only digest the insects, as it is the protein they are seeking. Pitcher plants are typically found in areas of poor soils and scientist believe the eating of insects evolved as a means of ‘topping up’ the plant’s nutrient intake. It is a good question about what happens to the water; I have never thought about it. I have never seen a pitcher full to the brim, so my guess is the bowl is not completely water tight and excess water is allowed to seep out. Pitcher plants are not poisonous. Monkeys eat their leaves but nothing appears to eat the pitchers themselves - which probably reflects the poor nutrient quality. Certainly orangutans have never been seen eating them. However, it is a common “dare” amongst the Field Assistants to drink the water. I can vouch for the fact it is harmless.
Sheryl’s comment on the lady not selling cookies until they find bakers who are environmentally responsible was interesting. The Orangutan Foundation is working with one such company in the UK, Paterson Arran, who are leading the UK biscuit industry in finding replacements for palm oil. They use olive and rapeseed oil in its place. As they told us, the transition wasn’t easy. On the first attempt at a palm oil free chocolate chip cookie, all the chocolate chips fell out! Fortunately, they persevered and managed to overcome the problem. Interestingly, Paterson Arran are always quick to point out the switch isn’t just good for orangutans; they calculated changing from palm oil resulted in a 60-70% reduction in saturated fat….
Unfortunately we don’t have any more information about the situation in Bukit Tigapuluh at the moment other than that in the report by WWF. A number of local NGO’s in Jambi/Riau are working hard on this issue and if we do hear from our colleagues we will keep you updated.
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7 Responses to “More on pitcher plants and palm oil free cookies…”
Wanda, Atlanta, on 14 Jan 2008
SUPER INTERESTING POST.
Sheryl, Washington, DC, on 14 Jan 2008
Y’know, I make vegan chocolate chip cookies often without palm oil and the damn chips never fall out.
We don’t use rapeseed oil much here in the U.S., but we use the Canadian derivative, canola oil, for everything. I believe it is sustainably farmed, too.
Thanks for the answer about the water in the pitcher plants. Y’all scientists get all crazy out in the wild, doncha?
s.
F. J. PECHIR, on 14 Jan 2008
Thank you for your kind answer about the problem in Sumatra. The Palm lil plantations are really a very big ploblem in Southeast Asia, and now, that problem is the responsible for a great damage to tropical forest in the island of New Britain, where many bird species are now in danger of extintion.
F. J. PECHIR, on 14 Jan 2008
I mean “oil”, sorry.
sheryl, washington dc, on 14 Jan 2008
I got an e-mail response today from the Girl Scout Council. It’s long so if anyone wants to read it please drop an e-mail note to me at nothoney@gmail.com and I’ll gladly forward it. It looks like they’ve asked their bakers to find alternative oils to use. Since they sell 200 million boxes of cookies every year, that’s good news.
s.
orangutanfoundation, on 15 Jan 2008
That is very good news Sheryl. It shows that consumers do have the power to influence the products that they buy and that everyone can do something to help.
Thank you,
Orangutan Foundation
Sheryl, Washington, DC, on 15 Jan 2008
OK, my morning got a nice lift from Mr. Allan Miller of Paterson Arran. He contacted me to ask for contact details for Mr. Bergerson of the Girl Scouts. Mr. Miller would like to offer assistance to the Girl Scouts in their search for a palm oil replacement. This is a very cool blog.
s.
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