Pro palm oil strikes back

Non governmental organization World Growth strikes back at green groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth stating that their campaigns against the production of palm oil in Southeast Asia are damaging the economic and environmental benefits that this industry is giving to developing countries.

"Palm oil is a highly sustainable, energy efficient crop, generating nearly 10 times the energy it consumes -- compared to a ratio of 2.5 for soybeans and 3 for ripe oilseed. More importantly, its production has been commended by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank as effective in alleviating poverty in the developing world," says World Growth Chairman Alan Oxley.

The NGO released a study on the sustainability of palm oil and blasted the green groups' campaigns against the industry as "morally reprehensible." World Growth said that palm oil production has been commended by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank as effective in alleviating poverty in the developing world.