Q&A: Rainforest Action Network’s Lindsey Allen on palm oil, human rights and more
Lindsey Allen:
"Companies each need to understand supply chains to a much deeper level and make sure they aren’t outsourcing their values to a [RSPO] label that can’t hold up.
This means a combination of direct relationships with farmers and understanding what your supply chain is. When you can trace an ingredient back to the source, you can get a better level of assurance that it was responsibly sourced. There's massive exploitation with producers who feel like they can hide within a convoluted supply chain. Some middlemen traders, who often buy low and sell high, don't have any reason to add transparency and traceability.
Last September, Cargill said they would eliminate deforestation and long supply chains. This is a result of a brand saying, 'you can't hide this information from us.' Especially in the natural foods market, consumers have a level of expectations around ingredient quality that includes consciousness."