Peaceful Protest

The Australian Orangutan Project (AOP) will hold its first ever protest, this Saturday, 30 May in Perth City. AOP supporters will conduct a peaceful rally to protest a proposal for the clearing and destruction of High Conservation Value rainforest that has recently been put forward by Asia Pulp & Paper/Sinar Mas Group for the buffer zone of Bukit Tigapuluh (Thirty Hills) National Park, Central Sumatra, Indonesia. This globally important ecosystem provides a safe haven for many species which are threatened by extinction including the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan, tiger and elephant.

The peaceful protest will start at noon at the corner of Barrack St and Murray Street Mall and will run until mid afternoon. AOP supporters will invite people to sign a petition http://www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/orangutan.html against the proposal. Almost 3,000 people have already signed the petition which started on Friday, 22 May. More than 100 orangutans have been released to date via the Bukit Tigapuluh Sumatran Orangutan Reintroduction Project – the only reintroduction site for this critically endangered species. Scientists spent decades to discover how to successfully reintroduce critically endangered orangutans from captivity into the wild and it could take Asia Pulp & Paper/Sinar Mas Group just months to destroy an important part of their new habitatBetween 1985 and 2007, Sumatra island lost 12 million hectares of natural forest, a 48 per cent loss in 22 years. By 2007, the island had only 30 per cent natural forest cover (around 13 million hectares).The Indonesian Ministries of Forestry, Environment, Public Works and Interior, as well as the governors of all 10 Sumatran provinces, including Jambi, last year announced their collective commitment to protecting the areas of the island with “high conservation values.”The natural forest slated for destruction by Asia Pulp & Paper/Sinar Mas Group – Bukit Tigapuluh – is a prime example of the high conservation value areas that the governors promised to protect.
Many environmental NGOs and Government organisations work in the landscape (including WARSI, the Sumatran Tiger Conservation and Protection Foundation, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Zoological Society of London, WWF and the Australian Orangutan Project). Several Australian Government and NGOs also financially support the landscape including the Australian Orangutan Project, Human Society International (Australia), Perth Zoo, Auckland Zoo, Zoos South Australia, Australia Zoo, and Dream World. Hundreds of individual Australians also provide financial support for the Park’s protection through the Australian Orangutan Project’s Safe Guard Program.
AOP supporters are encouraged to attend this event and wear orangutan/tiger/elephant etc T-shirts. If you have any enquires then please contact AOP Project Coordinator Kylie Bullo at projects@orangutan.org.au

Additive Alert #2 - Better Choices

In Julie Eady's book "Additive Alert" she suggests that we all make better choices for our children. In particular, steer clear of junky breakfast cereals, flavoured savory biscuits, chips, rice crackers, two minute noodles, pasta snacks, popper fruit juice drinks, brightly coloured foods, white bread and processed meats. These are not good for anyone but especially not for young children.

She says you can still buy ice creams and lollies for treats if you want to, but make better choices. She suggests Chocolate Billabongs, Maltesers, White and Chocolate Freddo Frogs as good choices.

Be aware of how you motivate and reward your kids in relation to foods instead of using a trip to McDonalds or the candy bar as a reward use a small toy or book, or take them to the park to spend quality time with you, read them a story, buy them an exotic piece of fruit at the greengrocer or a soft bun at the bakery.

The following products have no additives linked to health risks - : Kelloggs Corn Flakes, Farmland Butter, Crusta Orange Juice Preservative free, SW Whole egg Mayonnaise, Mainland Light and tasty cheese slices.

The bookmark above has a list of the main additives you want to avoid. This list includes the worst additives that most people may want to avoid.

Julie has done a great job and has put together a very informative book with some great suggestions. I highly recommend getting a hold of a copy of this book.

Additive Alert

There are numerous food additives still in use today that are known to be dangerous and which, given the choice, most of us would choose not to consume or feed to our families.

With help from this great book by Julie Eady I have been making changes to the brands and or types of food that I buy. I will regularly feature on this blog page some simple changes she has recommended. You can also find out more on her website www.additivealert.com.au

I regularly used one of the well known brands of mayonnaise, little did I know, it was packed full of harmful additives. I now buy the Thomy Delikatess Mayonnaise, which according to the ingredients listed on the jar, has no additives or preservatives (You can pick this one up at IGA).

I have also cut out peanut butter. As mentioned in Julie's book, many brands of peanut butter in Australia contain a particularly nasty chemical known as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). This chemical is known to cause stomach cancer in rats and mice and is strongly thought to be a human carcinogen. Usually there is no mention of this additive on the label due to a loophole in the labelling laws in this country. Other equally effective, non-toxic additives exsist that can do the same job, but BHA is cheaper and so is more widely used.

Food Additives: Are they making us sick?; A current Affair factsheet 17 January 2002; www.ninemsn.com.au .

Hope this information helps. Wishing you all good health and happiness.