Palm Oil Industry and Its Effects on the Indigenous...

Rainforests are the most diverse biomes on the earth. The rainforest house many different species and support the lives of the indigenous tribes who depend on the forests for habitat, food, and way of life. The palm oil companies are spreading to many parts of the world, taking out regions of the forest in order to make room for their palm oil plantations. Palm oil is found in 50% of products we use every day from items like shampoo and conditioner to the food we eat (Rainforest Rescue 2013). If the rain forests are fragmented too much, not only will it cause the species to possibly go extinct but it will cause issues with tribes like the Waorani, who are nomadic and depend on the forest for food, shelter, and clothes. If we treat the†¦show more content†¦In class, we discussed this with the Mbuti as their health decreased as they were brought into city which has diseases the Mbuti didn’t have the immunity for and were further away from the plants they used for medic ine. The forest provides the tribes of Ecuador, like the Waorani, with a natural resource. The trees naturally filter out all the dirt and sand and particles that are unwanted in your water. If the forest is depleted much more effort will have to be put into making the water clean, which is easy in a wealthy society but not for the tribes. They don’t have a water treatment system. Also, the treatment of palm oil plants can affect the fish living in the streams. According to John Ashley, the managers of these plantations apply very toxic pesticides to these plants which gets into the water kills the fish and contaminates the drinking water for the locals. This water contamination has caused the locals to get sick as they drink and use the water for cooking. â€Å"The most dangerous pesticides being applied are Endrin, Aldrin, Dieldrin, and Parathion. †¦ Eating game contaminated by Endrin has been known to cause brain damage and birth defects in human beings† (Ashl ey 1987). So even after these Palm Oil Plantations leave Ecuador, it will have long term, devastating health effects on the individuals that are still in Ecuador. So not only do these plantations take away