Nick Taylor

English 2010
Professor Melissa Helquist
20 April, 2014
Nature is a Business
As our world becomes more populated every day, the demand for natural materials and
fuels also increase. Unfortunately, these substances are mostly gathered from nature through an
act referred to as deforestation. Millions of acres of trees are cut down each year to meet these
rising demands, most of which originate from large companies needing the materials they use to
mass produce their product. This is why I believe in the importance of creating large, sustainable
plantations from which these companies can attain their resources from.
Among the list of highly desired resources, palm oil holds a huge demand for use in
margarine, shampoo, ice cream, ready to eat meals, and even biofuel along with many more. Right
now Indonesia and Malaysia are the top suppliers for these palm oils. The natural tropical forests in
these lands are being cut down and replaced with immense plantations of palm oil trees. This
creates an adverse effect on the lands indigenous animals, and even humans. The, demand for
palm oil and energy in Indonesia continues to drive deforestation and displacement of local
communities in a country that has already lost [more than] 64 million hectares of tropical forests to
agribusiness in the past five decades.

Imagine if the continued removal of these natural forests
were stopped through the use of sustainable palm oil plantations in the locations were large scale
plantations already exist.
Palm oil trees are perennial and have about a 30-year life span, making them ideal for
repeated collections and harvests. They experience a huge rise in production rate from 2 years old
to about 8 years old, with a peak from 9 to 18 years old. At the end of their lives however, they
begin to decrease in production rate until they die altogether. A lot of these trees are left dead
while the planters have moved
on to new parts of the forest to
plant younger, more efficient
trees with higher production
rates of palm oils. A sustainable
solution to this destructive
cycle would be to observe the
growth rate of these trees, and create a cycle were older trees are then replaced with younger ones
within existing plantations to ensure a steady rate of production over the years. This would help
stop the continued devastation of Indonesia and Malaysias natural forests, and prevent any more
encroachment of local tribes and communities, relieving unnecessary social tension for the cause of
agribusiness.
Deforestation due to palm oil harvest is but just one reason this vicious act occurs around
the world. But it is a large reason nonetheless, that has the potential to become a controlled and
sustainable means of resource production to meet the never-ending demands of our world today.
Irresponsible plantations can leave the soil dried up and useless, an effect that can rarely be
reversed. If no solution is found or implemented, one day so much of our land will be used up that
organic life will become an impossibility. Just how foolish will we feel when all this was done in the
name of business?


Works Cited
MacLean, Dana. "Palm oil fuels Indonesia deforestation." Al Jazeera. N.p., 4 Apr. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/04/palm-oil-fuels-indonesia-deforestation-
indigenous-displa-201443145636809366.html>.

Shean, Micheal. "MALAYSIA: Stagnating Palm Oil Yields Impede Growth." United States Department of
Agriculture. N.p., 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/highlights/2012/12/Malaysia/>.