Palm Oil Scandal!

A boy collects palm kernels from the ground at a palm oil plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. Indonesian government officials said they do not know how many children work in the country's massive palm oil industry, either full or part-time. But the U.N.'s International Labor Organization has estimated that 1.5 million children between 10 and 17 years old labor in its agricultural sector. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

Hey everyone! I am straying away from prison labor this week while staying on the theme of big corporations using their power to exploit workers, land, and resources. The pain inflicted on the earth and the people who harvest palm oil while global brands are making insane profits. As you may have guessed, this week's edition will be about palm oil. I will first articulate what palm oil is, where its located, how it's harvested, what companies use it, and who is impacted by the industry. 

© James Morgan / WWF-International

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil from the fruit of oil palm trees. Harvested palm fruit is exceptionally laborious and physically demanding work. Oil palm trees are native to Africa; however, they were brought to South-East Asia over a hundred years ago. WWF states that "Indonesia and Malaysia make up over 85% of the global palm oil supply." The big problem with palm oil is it's in nearly EVERYTHING. I implore you to go into your pantry and look at the ingredients. More than likely, you will find palm oil. It's not just in food products; it's in deodorant, shampoo, cosmetics,  animal feed, and biofuel. According to WWF, palm oil is in nearly half of all packaged products. 

I will focus on a company called Wilmar, founded in 1991, headquartered in Singapore, and Asia's leading agribusiness group. With a reported "record $1.16 billion US Dollars net profit for the six months ending on June 30, 2022"(Wilmar financial report). Wilmar is the world's largest palm oil trader. Colgate, Palmolive, General Mills, Hersey, Kellogs, Kraft, L'Oreal, Nestle, and Pepsi all source their palm oil from Wilmar (Greenpeace exposed). These corporations have so many other brands and products within their corporations. 

Wilmar has been accused of severe human rights violations on their plantations, such as forced labor,  child labor, gender discrimination, and working conditions that put workers at extreme risk. Amnesty International found that these events were not isolated but a systemic business practice conducted within the Wilmar Corporation. Employees of Wilmar are paid based on duties and tasks rather than hours worked which is a violation of Indonesia's International Labor Convention, which states, "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the person has not offered himself voluntarily."International Labor Organization. Being paid for a task or duty of the day rather than a wage per hour is concerning and against the law in Indonesia. The report found that their salaries were withheld for people who were unsuccessful in completing a task. Targets for a harvester are based on their age and anticipated productivity of palm trees in that area. For example, a harvester's target collection could be 950 kg, which equates to over 2,000 pounds a day- which is a massive amount for anyone to harvest. If that target is not met Wilmar will deduct one-seventh of their salary. Harvesting palm tree fruit is a difficult job and pays the best compared to the other duties demanded. Having to climb and use a sickle to cut down the palm fruit without safety harnesses or other protective gear. 

(AP Photo/ Binsar Bakkara)

The report exposing Wilmar by Amnesty International "documented evidence of the involvement of children and hazardous owned by Wilmar." This is due to kids helping their parents successfully hit their targeted harvest amounts. Some children reported working since the age of eight years old. A testimony from a father of an eight-year-old boy said, " said: “I get the premi [bonus] from the loose fruit that’s why my kids help me. I wouldn’t be able to meet the target … otherwise. … The foreman sees my children helping me. The foreman says it is good that my child is helping me. [A senior manager] … has come when my child was helping me and not said anything. He doesn’t come out of his car. He yells out orders from his car to the foreman.”Amnesty International

A child helps her parents work on a palm oil plantation- 

Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. Many children gather loose kernels and clear brush from the trees with machetes. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

A child collects palm kernels from the ground at a palm oil plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. Indonesia is the world's largest palm oil producer. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

A child helps her parents work on a palm oil plantation-  Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. With little or no access to daycare, some young children in Indonesia and Malaysia follow their parents to the fields, where they are exposed to toxic pesticides and fertilizers. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

Indonesia's minimum wage, which is 84,116 Indonesian Rupiahs (equivalent to about $6 US)  per day, not even by the hour, is hardly what workers are receiving for their back-breaking grueling work. Amnesty International states it would take twenty-four sacks of loose palm fruit to be gathered to make the minimum wage per day. The most people can get is around eighteen bags, far less than the stated twenty-four, and it takes them around 10-14 hours a day to gather these sacks. This wage is strictly for harvesters, who are considered to have a more lucrative job. The workers who are involved with spraying the harsh chemicals and pesticides on plants are not even paid or, if they are lucky, paid for half a day's work.  Due to the harshness of the pesticides like Paraquat dichloride, which is a highly toxic chemical that poses a significant threat and risk to people's health. Paraquat dichloride is banned in Europe. Workers are not equipped with proper boots, masks, gloves, coveralls, with functioning goggles. Amnesty International documented injuries to workers, a woman named Yohanna had a pesticide splash in her eye causing severe damage to her eye stating. “I can’t see through the eye. I get headaches in part of my head, when I do, my eye feels really swollen. I still get a bit dizzy”. 

People are being exploited and subjected to extremely harsh chemicals while not being paid adequately and unable to provide for their families. While companies like Wilmar make an exorbitant amount of money. Wilmar is making record-breaking profits and only paying the highest paid workers, who are harvesters, a mere $4-6 US Dollars per day.  

Please watch the video provided above.  Articulating the environmental impact of harvesting palm oil on the Earth, which is incalculable, from massive fires purposefully ignited to clear land to plant massive hectares of palm trees, creating plumes of smoke that can be seen from space, indigenous people losing their native lands and the leading cause of the orangutang near extinction. Next week I will delve more into the environmental aspects of palm oil and travel to Malaysia and Africa to see how it has impacted their countries with human rights violations and human trafficking of migrant workers. 

Works cited:

8 things to know about palm oil. WWF. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/8-things-know-about-palm-oil 

Amnesty International . (2021, June 1). Indonesia: The Great Palm Oil Scandal: Labour abuses behind big brand names: Executive summary. Amnesty International. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa21/5243/2016/en/ 

Financial report , W. (2022, June 30). Wilmar International Limited and its subsidiaries - todayir. WILMAR REPORTS RECORD. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://media-wilmar.todayir.com/20210811180105330010143_en.pdf 

Greenpeace International. (2020, December 23). World's biggest brands still linked to rainforest destruction in Indonesia. Greenpeace International. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/18485/greenpeace-investigation-wilmar-brands-palm-oil-deforestation-indonesia/ 

Indonesia: The Great Palm Oil Scandal: Labour abuses behind big brand names: Executive summary. Amnesty International. (2016, November 30). Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa21/5243/2016/en/