As you may have heard, last Saturday, January 26, Rainforest Action Network, one of the Bay Area’s major environmental organizations, held a memorial service for its Executive Director, Becky Tarbotton. Becky, who was just 39 years old and an emerging star of the environmental movement, died in a swimming accident. Becky has appeared on Terra Verde in the past and she was a personal friend of some of the hosts. In honor of her work, we will be talking about one of Rainforest Action Network’s campaigns today.
These days, if you buy any processed food at the store, chances are you’ll buy something that contains palm oil. Just Wednesday, a new study was released on the environmental impacts of palm oil. Today, we are going to learn about the environmental and human rights implications of palm oil. My guests are Rhiannon Tomtishen, co-founder of Project Orang, joining us by phone and Ashley Schaffer, Rainforest Agribusiness Campaigner for Rainforest Action Network in the studio.