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deutsche Version: Agrar-Konzern ADM zerstört Tropenwälder für Palmöl - ROBIN WOOD-Protestaktion bei ADM im Hamburger Hafen Hamburg, 4/29/2008 Agro Group ADM destroys tropical forests for palm oil ROBIN WOOD protests action at ADM in the Port of Hamburg Since 10 a.m., activists from the environmental organization ROBIN WOOD have been protesting at the palm oil refinery of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in Hamburg. They are protesting against the company's destruction of rain forests so that it can supply Europe with raw materials. To create space for the expansion of its oil palms, the last rain forests are being rooted out in Southeast Asia – with fatal consequences for the local population, the diversity of the earth's species and the climate. Ten ROBIN WOOD activists climbed onto the roof of the ADM-owned “Hamburg Oil Mill” (“Hamburger Ölmühle“) and extended a huge banner (30 x 10m) bearing the message “We destroy rain forests“ beneath ADM's logo. In an open letter to CEO Patricia A. Woertz ROBIN WOOD is asking the group to cease its trade with palm oil. According to its own statements, ADM, one of the world's three biggest agro trade groups, operates Germany's biggest palm oil refinery at its Hamburg location. Every year 350,000 tons of palm oil are processed here. Moreover, ADM has a controlling interest in the over-exploitation group Wilmar. Wilmar operates palm oil plantations with a total area of over 200,000 hectares in Indonesia. In July 2007, environmentalists of Walhi (Friends of the Earth Indonesia) proved the group's culpability in the illegal slash-and-burn operations in Indonesia. Furthermore, ADM is still refusing to renounce clear-cutting in the rain forests in its quest for palm oil. A few big groups – among them ADM – control the worldwide trade in agro raw materials like palm oil. Palm oil is a versatile raw material. Beyond food and cosmetics it is increasingly also being used in power plants. ADM's deals in palm oil are done at the expense of the people in the tropical countries. The palm oil plantations in Indonesia are particularly aggressive in the way they eat away at the last remaining forests. Thus, for example, the Wilmar group alone is planning a yearly expansion of 40,000 hectares. As a result, enormous quantities of greenhouse gases are finding their way into the air, now turning Indonesia into the world's third biggest emitter of the climate killer CO2. “The trail of destruction from the last rainforests and global warming leads directly to ADM's front door. We urge ADM to renounce the processing of palm oil", says Peter Gerhardt, who is responsible for tropical forests at ROBIN WOOD. To dissipate ecological objections against palm oil, the “Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil” (RSPO) has been created, with ADM also involved. In its own words, RSPO is developing a certificate for sustainable palm oil. “RSPO serves as a green fig leaf for the palm oil groups. The Round Table is dominated by the industry. The standards are therefore low ", says Gerhardt. "The clear-cutting of tropical forests for oil palms continues to be permitted. Even highly toxic agro chemicals like the total herbicide Paraquat are not prohibited by the RSPO.“ A credible certification system for palm oil is not in sight. Therefore, in order to protect the rain forests, ROBIN WOOD considers the renunciation of the use of palm oil on an industrial scale to be a necessity. For further information: Peter Gerhardt, responsible for tropical forests, tel. +49 40 / 380 892-18, tropenwald@robinwood.de Ute Bertrand, press spokeswoman, tel. +49 40 / 380 892-22, presse@robinwood.de