Palm oil is the most consumed vegetable oil in the world because it’s a) astonishingly versatile and b) kept extraordinarily cheap through worker exploitation and widespread land theft
, SPFT steers clear of GMOs altogether, fearful of losing control over another aspect of their livelihood to agribusiness. “If you rely on GMO seeds, then you must always go back to the corporation for more,” Nittha tells me. As a safeguard, SPFT has been building a seed bank. “When we visit grassroots movements in other regions, we ask for their local seeds and distribute them to our members. The five communities within SPFT also exchange seeds.
Over the past several years, the farmers have invested in another commercial resource: They have started growing oil palm trees of their own, pooling the harvest of four communities and selling it through a cooperative. Since their oil palms are still dwarfed by their towering counterparts across the dirt road, the cooperative collects a relatively modest haul.
When I meet Surapol for the last time early on our final morning in Klong Sai Pattana, the sky is pale, the air thick with the promise of rain. He places a moka pot on a propane canister, and we both wait for the smell of coffee. “In the past, there were other farmers and community leaders who were murdered because of the work that they do,” Surapol says, his voice flat and hard.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
A grim account of the construction of the Congo-Océan RailwayA new book about the Congo-Océan Railway exposes the divide between the often admirable intentions of colonial bureaucrats, who did genuinely think they were lifting Africans out of poverty, and the grim reality that they enabled
Read more »
Beach Boys Drop Stunning A Cappella Version of 'Feel Flows,' Alternate 'This Whole World'Hear the Beach Boys' a cappella version of 'Feel Flows,' as well as an alternate take on 'This Whole World,' from their upcoming box set.
Read more »
Beach Boys Drop Stunning A Cappella Version of 'Surf's Up,' Alternate 'This Whole World'Hear the Beach Boys' a cappella version of 'Feel Flows,' as well as an alternate take on 'This Whole World,' from their upcoming box set.
Read more »
Why don’t rising house prices count towards inflation?Governments should sort out the inefficiencies in today’s housing markets, rather than make them somebody else’s problem
Read more »
Inside the Biggest Gymnastics Mistake in Olympics HistoryHow a dangerous error at the 2000 Sydney Games cost a gymnast her gold medal.
Read more »