General Mills Campaign Launch

Hello! My name is Maia, and I’m from St. Paul, Minnesota. Last fall I got to help form a new RAN Chapter in the Twin Cities! Now I’m happy to announce a new campaign launch targeting General Mills’ use of palm oil.

Palm Oil

In case you don’t know why palm oil is a problem, the increased demand for palm oil in countries such as the United States has led countries such as Indonesia to convert rainforests to palm oil plantations. In fact, palm oil is one of the most significant contributors to global rainforest destruction. As a result, Indonesia is the 3rd largest greenhouse gas polluter in the world, and its government plans to convert up to 18 million hectares of land into palm oil plantations by 2020.

Cargill

As you may know, Cargill is a private company based out of a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is also a huge supplier of palm oil grown on converted rainforests, where communities have not been given Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). RAN has been pressuring Cargill to change its ways for a few years now, and has compiled information on their role in rainforest destruction.

General Mills

Growing up as a resident of the Twin Cities, General Mills was a common household name– it meant Cheerios for breakfast and Hamburger Helper for dinner! Besides that, General Mills employs many local residents and has a history of support for community involvement. That is why I am excited about our new campaign launch targeting General Mills. I believe the company wants to use socially and environmentally responsible palm oil, as they have stated. However, their current provider, Cargill, does not meet their standards. We need General Mills to break its contract with Cargill for not meeting standards known as the RSPO principles and criteria. This will send a message to Cargill and demonstrate that General Mills does not just want to talk about sourcing palm oil that meets these standards, but is willing to take action to ensure the quality of its products. For more information about why we are targeting General Mills, please refer to this blog post by Rainforest Agribusiness Campaign Director Leila Salazar-Lopez.

Global to Local

Banner outside General Mills HQ

Last week, 42 activists helped unroll a 30 x 70 foot banner in front of the General Mills headquarters outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. There were many young people present for the action. They were excited about actually taking action locally instead of sitting around thinking about how awful climate change is globally. The fact is, palm oil production is a huge contribution to greenhouse gas emissions on a global level. By continuing to pressure our local companies to demand a change in the palm oil supply chain, I think we can make a huge difference.

Will You Help Us?

Please take action here to support our campaign to get General Mills to cancel its contract with Cargill. Also, if you are in or near the Twin Cities, check out our RAN chapter. General Mills has responded to our efforts so far by reaffirming their support for a moratorium on palm oil expansion in tropical rainforests. We need to tell them that, if that’s the case, we want to see them take action as well.

Thanks so much for your help!

One Response to “General Mills Campaign Launch”

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