Posted on 08/24/2008 6:37:09 PM PDT by lainie
(Fortune) -- What do Oreo cookies made by Nabisco, Cheez-It crackers from Kellogg's or General Mills' Fiber One Chewy Bars have to do with global warming and the destruction of tropical rainforests? A lot, say environmental activists.
The link between the supermarket shelf, climate change and shrinking rainforests is palm oil, a controversial ingredient that may now be the most widely-traded vegetable oil in the world.
Here's the problem: Demand for palm oil, which is found in soaps and cosmetics as well as food, has more than doubled in the last decade as worldwide food consumption has soared. Farmers, in turn, are expanding their plantations, burning forests in Indonesia and Malaysia, where nearly all of the palm oil imported to the United States originates. Deforestation is the primary reason that Indonesia's greenhouse gas emissions are the third-highest in the world.
The Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Science in the Public Interest are all campaigning against palm oil. (You can find their arguments here and here and here and here.) Last week, RAN asked about 2,000 volunteers to sneak into food stores across the United States and attach stickers to products made with palm oil.
"Warning!," the stickers said. "May Contain Rainforest Destruction."
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
The world is full of idiots who want to meddle into, and control every aspect of our lives. Just another example of intrusive elements and the government assclowns that support them for money and votes -—
Powdered Greenie brains.
Because it takes so MANY Greenies to make a couple of grams...
Uh on!! Watch out democratic presidential ticket.
‘...Uh on!! Watch out democratic presidential ticket....’
That was my first thought. Now they are going after Obama!
The article misses one of the biggest contributors to the growth of palm oil use, especially in snack foods. The campaign against partially hydrogenated oils led Nabisco to put the palm oil in the Oreos. I am sure other products dropping partially hydrogenated oil has led to the use of more palm oils as well.
What is an earth muffin to do?
The Stop the War on Drugs crowd ain’t gonna like this one.
I’ll give you my Oreos when you take them from my cold, dead hands!
I’ll tell you this much: Whether it’s because the palm oil is fresher, or some other reason, Oreos manufactured in Indonesia are without doubt, the very best in the world.
They are hands down tastier, the cookies crisper and the filoing smoother than Oreos made anywhere else in the world, including in the USA. Whenever I am in Indonesia, I never leave without a supply stashed away in my suitcase.
Some may doubt that any orea could be better than our own (admittedly good) domestic product, but in a double blind taste test I conducted, I was able to confirm this to statistical certainty (p<0.005).
Those Indonesian Oreos are just superb.
They already banned the propellant in my asthma inhaler, starting in January. These people are psychotic.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
And some barbecued spotted owl breast.
"When Oreos and Cheeze-Its are outlawed, only outlaws will have Oreos and Cheeze-Its!"
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I'd buy the whole shelf and give them away in front of the store while munching on them myself !
Probably by the time you get them they'll be less perfect than JV's stash. I had that experience with Gummy Bears that someone brought back from Germany to the office - they were so fresh and juicy that I won't even buy the shipped ones any more. I had no idea how desiccated and stale the ones you can buy here actually are. I know we do some business in Indonesia, but I don't know if anyone ever actually goes there. I'm going to make it a point to find out today, though.
Which brings to mind another adage:
"They'll get my Cheez-Its when they pry them from my cold, dead hands."
Ah jees. That article just made me hungry for arroz con coco (rice with coconut).
Just for that, I’m going to make it for lunch.
Recipe:
(Don’t use the artificially sweetened Coconut juice such as those used for drinks, cookies, etc. You don’t want sweet rice. Yeck!)
Use your plain white rice recipe, but instead of adding water, add coconut juice. I know nothing about the coconut juice in the States. Here it is a little heavier than water; therefore, you may want to thin it down with a little H2O so it cooks better. Here in Panama, because of the consistency of the coconut juice, the rice comes out just a tad creamy.
Enjoy.
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