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Mark,

Thank you. KFC is the latest company to release a new, deforestation-free palm oil commitment, and it’s because of you!

Over the last year, SumOfUs members have added over 1.5 million signatures to petitions telling some of the world’s largest fast food corporations that there’s no excuse to continue buying palm oil that could cause climate change, loss of endangered species habitat, and tropical deforestation.

We took action. Corporations listened. And acted!

KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell — all owned by multinational conglomerate Yum! Brands, America’s second largest fast food corporation — responded to our demands. Yum! Brands recently announced a new palm oil policy that requires all the palm oil they use for cooking be deforestation-free.

Click here to share the good news on Facebook.

While Yum! Brands still need to go further to ensure its commitments translate into real impacts on the ground, this is a tremendous step forward for the climate, tropical forests, and endangered species.

Together, we are transforming the palm oil industry.

Thanks for all that you do,
Hanna, Fatah, Nicole, Carys, and the rest of the team at SumOfUs.

P.S. Wondering what’s next in the fight for tropical forests and deforestation free palm oil?

Join the more than 110,000 people who have asked Burger King and Tim Horton’s, America’s third largest fast food company, to go deforestation-free.

Tweet BK and tell it that now is the time to adopt strong deforestation-free and peat-free palm oil policies!

Original mail:

Mark,

KFC says it has absolutely no idea where its palm oil comes from — and it’s putting that palm oil into loads of products, from apple turnovers to grilled chicken to country-fried steak.

In other words, KFC, the world’s second largest restaurant chain, can’t guarantee that it’s not buying from conflict palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia. It could very well be responsible for the clearing of pristine rainforest, for the deaths of thousands of orangutans and tigers, for child labour on palm plantations, and rocketing carbon emissions from deforestation.

Tell KFC & Yum! Brand’s to do the right thing, and adopt a comprehensive deforestation-free palm oil policy.

KFC is owned by Yum! Brands, which also owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, two more fast food chains that also use palm oil. To get Yum! to adopt a deforestation-free palm oil policy, we’re joining forces with the Union of Concerned Scientists to push this issue all the way up to the CEO’s desk.

The mega fast food conglomerate insists that it’s phasing out palm oil “wherever feasible”, with only a little more than 30% of its restaurants still using it for frying. But with more than 40,00 outlets around the world, that’s still more than 12,000 KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants that fry with palm oil that could be from destroyed rainforests. Furthermore, Yum! Brands has no policy for palm oil used in the rest of its non-fried products, including KFC’s biscuits and gravy.

Pressure is mounting on KFC to make the switch to responsibly-sourced palm oil. On top of our efforts, Yum! Brands is feeling pressure from its own shareholders over the palm oil issue, and it will have to face a shareholder resolution at its Annual General Meeting in May, demanding that it starts sourcing responsible palm oil.

We’ve already convinced Kellogg’s, Krispy Kreme, Dunkin’ Donuts and other big companies to change their ways, causing a shift in the global palm oil supply chain. Because of our work, it’s easier than ever for companies to buy palm oil that’s free of deforestation. Similar organized consumer pressure has dramatically slowed the rate of deforestation in Brazil. KFC can be moved with public pressure too, especially now with the double whammy of a shareholder resolution looming on the horizon.

Tell KFC and Yum! Brands to step up, and back off the rainforest. Adopt a deforestation-free policy now.

Thanks for all that you do,

Kaytee, Hanna, and the team at SumOfUs.org

More information:

Palm Oil Scorecard: Ranking America’s Biggest Brands on Their Commitment to Deforestation-Free Palm Oil (2014), Union of Concerned Scientists
Yum! Brands latest statement on palm oil, Yum! Brands
Shareholder resolution: Yum Brands! – Sustainable Agriculture / Palm Oil Policy (2015), Trillium Investments

SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

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Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional |