COPENHAGEN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today at the UN Climate Change Conference, the NGO World Growth released a report revealing that recent campaigns by Western environmental groups against palm oil produced in developing countries are not only bogus but also potentially devastating for millions of poor in these regions of the world. The report - “Collateral Damage: How the Bogus Campaign Against Palm Oil Harms the Poor” - demonstrates that production of palm oil, an ancient product, sustainable vegetable oil and essential food staple, raises living standards and reduces poverty in developing countries. For instance:

• Palm oil can generate over returns of over US$ 3000 per hectare – village farming by poor generates less than US$ 100
• Experts forecast Malaysian palm oil plantations -- already directly providing more than 570,000 jobs -- will support another 180,000 workers by 2010;
• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is funding a project in Uganda to trial the effectiveness of Palm Oil as a poverty eradication tool.

“World Growth’s new report analyses recent harsh claims against palm oil and reveals that, at best, they’re a misunderstandings of facts and economics and, at worst, intentional distortion of the truth in an attempt to advance radical efforts to halt any conversion of forested land,” said World Growth Chairman Alan Oxley. “All of the sudden, palm oil has become the straw man of the anti-forestry movement.

“Oil palm is highly sustainable -- generating 10 times the amount of energy consumed. Compare that to oil seed, which produces only three times the energy input; and other vegetable oils which require 10 times more land to create the same quality product. And if these ‘green’ credentials aren’t enough, our report also shows that palm oil plantations are very effective carbon sinks -- a stark contrast to propaganda to the contrary.

In addition to these surprising revelations, the report also debunks claims that palm oil plantations are the leading cause of deforestation and loss of orang-utan habitat. Development and forestry experts have shown two-thirds of forest clearance is driven by low income people in poor countries searching for land, habitation and food production.

Oxley concluded, “That some are willing to advance potentially devastating positions so casually -- especially when their implementation would likely cripple one of the main industries able to demonstrably reduce poverty and raise living standards -- calls into question their morals. It’s not ‘green,’ it’s simply mean.”

Click here to read the entire World Growth Report

Click here to read the Executive Summary

Click here to read the Annex, Rating the Strength of NGO Claims

To speak with World Growth’s experts or find out more about its work, please email media@WorldGrowth.org or call +1-202-374-0269.

World Growth is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established with an educational and charitable mission to expand the education, information and other resources available to disadvantaged populations to improve their health and economic welfare. At World Growth, we embrace and celebrate the new age of globalization and the power of free trade to eradicate poverty and improve living conditions for people in the developing world. For more information on World Growth, visit www.worldgrowth.org.

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