Goin' Green

I was recently accosted by a well-intentioned man about the ingredients in my gluten-free baked goods. I use a vegan butter that contains, among other oils, palm. The man wanted to know where the palm oil came from and how I could sell my product when I didn’t know.

I read the paper every day and consider myself informed, but I had no idea what he was talking about. I forgot about it until Saturday when I went to the Go Green Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

There, the Orangutan Crisis Coalition set me straight. The orangutans are reportedly threatened because their rainforest habitat is being converted into palm oil plantations. There are a few companies that boast being “orangutan-friendly” and Earth Balance, the maker of the vegan butter I use, is one of them.

According to the coalition, other orangutan-friendly companies include Newman’s Own Organics, Kellog’s, Colgate-Palmolive, and H.J. Heinz.