The Palm Oil Problem

Palm Oil Seed and Oil

Link to Article :

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/nov/09/palm-oil-migrant-workers-orangutans-malaysia-labour-rights-exploitation-environmental-impacts

Conclusion: 

    This article is titled "Palm oil: why do we care more about orangutans than migrant workers?" and written by Laura Villadiego. The article discusses how to Palm Oil Industry affects migrant workers in countries with palm oil plantations. Palm oil is the ingredient used in foods as a replacement for trans fats. Palm oil is in candy, snack food ,and even toothpaste.The message of the article is that migrant workers of palm oil plantations are being exploited and that the palm oil industry is enslaving them.The authors of Asking The Right Questions, Browne and Keeley describe Prescriptive Issues as issues that raise questions about what we should do or what is right or wrong, good or bad. Include the words: SHOULD, WHAT OUGHT TO BE DONE, MUST. 
    Two examples of  Prescriptive Issues found in the text are “It is a very abusive system that includes labour-trafficking, debt bondage and unfair payments,” and  "The laws tie migrants’ work permits to a specific employer, which makes it impossible for them to look for better opportunities in other plantations or sectors." This article focuses on the welfare of people so there are no prescriptive issues present in the article. The prescriptive issues in the article are focused on WHAT OUGHT TO BE DONE to help palm oil plantation workers. The article concluded that these laborers were often abused and taken advantage of by the palm oil processor owners. They are basically stuck as indentured servants to the processors and because of work quotas that are almost impossible to reach families are forced to make their young children work. These companies exploit the poverty in countries like Borneo and Sumatra where these plantations are. The laws in these countries often are not in their favor therefore, these workers are at the discretion of the palm oil business.

A child worker processing palm oil seeds

Evidence:

    The writers of articles often use evidence in order to support their argument. Two examples of evidence that the author uses to support the message they are trying to convey are "Malaysia is not a signatory country of the two ILO Conventions on Migrant Workers (Convention 97 and Convention 143), that set the standards for the rights of migrant workforces." and "Working conditions at the plantations are harsh and national Malaysians are generally not willing to harvest the red fruits for the low wages the industry offers, says Eric Gottwald, legal and policy director at the International Labor Rights Forum."

Quotes like these examples are littered throughout the article. Together these quotes paint the picture of countries with palm oil plantations not protecting the people that work within them. Quotes like these help the reader realize that these people are trapped in a vicious cycle of hard labor for almost nothing. Theses poor people have now become slaves to the industry and thus have added to the plethora of environmental, economical, and now social  problems that the palm oil industry has created. 

Fallacies:

    Fallacies are errors in the authors reasoning. One fallacy in the article that Browne and Keeley explain is the False Dilemma. The False Dilemma occurs when the author assumes there are only two alternatives when there are more than two. In this article the two alternatives are the continuous exploitation of migrant workers or the government supporting and protecting migrant workers. Upon further thought and research, one could come up with a third alternative. Another alternative that could have been stated in the article is that major companies are in need of palm oil. Thus, these major companies who are the cause of the palm oil plantations could implement strategies that benefit migrant workers on these plantations. In order to have a strong argument the author must include more alternatives.

My Conclusions:

    This issue is something that I am knowledgeable and well versed on. For four years I worked with the Philadelphia Zoo and educated people on the palm oil crisis. The palm oil industry not only affects orangutans but the people in the third world countries in which these plantations reside. At the zoo I focused only problems that orangutans faced but, finding out about how people are being affected is very interesting. Conservation has the power to help both animals and people, That is why we most be conscious of how we impact the world.