Hired thugs working for a palm oil corporation stormed
villages in Indonesia to force people off their land earlier this month so that
PT Asiatic Persada could take up a government concession. It was a dramatic
example of an often violent international land grab at work.
Nearly 150 homes were destroyed in the latest
incident in a long standing conflict, where the Indonesian government is
sacrificing the lives and of thousands of forest dwelling people to the god of
growth. The army was present at the destruction of the Padang Salak hamlet in a
dispersed village called Bunku in Sumatra.
On December 10 police opened fire on anti-palm oil
protestors in Pujehun province, Sierra Leone. People were protesting about the
activities of international agro-investor Socfin. They say they were lied to
about leases and conned into allowing Socfin to move in for just $5 an acre.
After years of civil war, the Sierra Leone government has
used a period of relative stability to invite the corporations in. It has
signed a $1.3 billion deal with China Hainan Rubber Industry Group and Addax
Bioenergy, a Swiss biofuel company, has leased 14,300 hectares in Tonkolili
district for the production of sugar cane.
Another country emerging from years of civil war is Liberia,
and the corporations are beating a path to the government's door. Equatorial
Palm Oil has its eye on almost 170,000 hectares of land for plantations. The
same story is repeated in Mozambique and Cameroon.
Local people are being bullied by their governments into
leasing out land for tiny returns and for periods so long, they have in effect
lost it for ever.
Claims that the corporations contribute jobs and welfare for
people in areas where they work are a complete fraud. People are never
consulted about roads or buildings, and few jobs are created.
And the claim that the corporations will help by paying tax
to African governments is even more fraudulent. The charity Action
Aid revealed a document from accountants Deloitte advising clients how to
avoid paying tax in Africa. For example, by channelling funds through Mauritius
they could avoid capital gains tax altogether in Mozambique, one of earth's
poorest countries where life expectancy is just 49.
Fifty years ago palm oil was a minor product, but its
property of staying solid at relatively high temperatures makes it useful for
highly processed foods. It is present in half of all supermarket products
though it may not be listed on the label other than as vegetable oil. The
growing popularity of palm oil with the food processors has not reduced soya
oil production; it continues to expand with an eye to the biofuels market.
The supermarket giants claim processing food into ready
meals or snack products adds value. But in the UK more than 60% of adults are
overweight or obese as are more than 30% of children. There is an epidemic of
Type 2 diabetes and obese individuals have a 50% greater chance of dying early.
People in Africa, Indonesia and Latin America were never
consulted about the vegetable oil giants moving on to their land. And people in
the West were never consulted about the introduction of a diet driven by the
profit margins of the supermarkets and endorsed by their friends in government.
The corporations are entities that float above society, not
subject to any control, indifferent to the health and wellbeing of people or
nature as a whole, and using their power to subvert any semblance of democracy.
A united front of people's across the globe is needed to challenge both ends of
this destructive food chain.
Penny Cole
Environment editor
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