Colombian Red Howler Monkey Alouatta seniculus

Colombian Red Howler Monkey Alouatta seniculus

(Likely now) Vulnerable

Extant (resident)

Brazil (Amazonas); Colombia; Ecuador; Peru; Trinidad and Tobago; Venezuela.

Red howlers are the largest of the howler monkey species. They have dense and vividly coloured fur that ranges from brown to dark red, with gold or bright orange undersides – the colour can vary based on their age and habitat. Their bare, dark faces contrast with the surrounding fur. They have stunning and characterful faces with stubby noses, wide jaws, and thick beards. These beautiful #monkeys face multiple threats including palm oil, soy and meat deforestation, the construction of #hydroelectric dams, #hunting and human persecution. Help them to survive each time you shop, #BoycottGold #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

youtu.be/jg-7kOpHtys

The largest of the howler #monkeys, Colombian Red #Howler 🐵🐒❤️ are decreasing due to #palmoil #soy #meat and #mining #deforestation. Help them to survive and #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🪔🔥🧐⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife #BoycottGold @palmoildetect palmoildetectives.com/2024/02/…

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Red Howlers, characterful, cheeky red furry #monkeys of #Colombia 🐵🐒🙈🙉 they are under threat from #palmoil and #gold #deforestation 😿 fight for them and #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🔥⛔️ #BoycottGold 🥇🔥⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect palmoildetectives.com/2024/02/…

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The Colombian or Venezuelan red howler is a type of howler monkey that lives in the western Amazon Basin of South America, across countries like Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. In 1986, the monkeys in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz were identified as a different species called the Bolivian red howler. More recently, monkeys in northeastern South America and Trinidad have been named as the Guyanan red howler. All these howler monkeys are part of a larger family called Atelidae, which is a group of New World monkeys.

Several threats are known to this species across their distribution range, including hunting, deforestation and other pressures due to human activities. Although howler monkeys are believed to easily adapt to disturbed forest, extensive deforestation has occurred throughout their range in Colombia. Recent reports from northern Peru show that A. seniculus populations are highly affected by hunting for local consumption, deforestation for agriculture, cattle ranching, logging, and hydrocarbon exploration (Aquino et al. 2016).
IUCN red list

Appearance & Behaviour

Curious and social, Red howlers live in groups with 1 to 3 males, 2 to 7 females, and varying numbers of young monkeys. Their throats appear swollen due to an enlarged hyoid bone at the base of the tongue. Males are larger than females with darker and denser beards.

Their tails are exceptionally long, with the last third being hairless underneath, which helps them grip branches better. The males in all-male groups sometimes fight in order to gain the status and take control – in order to become the alpha male.

These monkeys are known for their loud howls, which can be heard up to 5 km away, usually at dawn and before they sleep at night. This communication helps avoid territory overlap with our neighbouring troops. Red howlers are most active in the morning and prefer staying high up in trees where they can find the most leaves. They aren’t fans of rain and often make plaintive howls when it’s raining, while sitting hunched over in trees.

Threats

The main danger to red howlers is the loss of their home to deforesation. Also the forests that flood seasonally.

Changes like building dams and cutting down trees along rivers have dramatically reduced their habitat range. Sadly, many red howlers are killed for their unique enlarged hyoid bone, which is used as a cup in treating certain health conditions, or simply for food. They can also be captured and sold commercially.

• Deforestation for palm oil, meat and soy: Habitat destruction is the primary threat to red howlers.
• Deforestation for hydroelectric dams: They are affected by dam construction and logging, as they live in seasonally flooded forests.
• Human persecution: Red howlers are sometimes killed for their enlarged hyoid bone, which is used as a drinking vessel for treating health conditions by local people.
• Hunting: They are hunted for food.
• Illegal pet trade: Commercial exportation is also a threat, as they can be captured and sold.
• Disease: Dengue and Yellow Fever viruses

Although this animal was previously recorded on IUCN Red List as being ‘Least Concern’ 100,000’s of hectares of rainforest have since disappeared for palm oil, soy and meat across their range. It is likely that this rating will be updated to be either ‘Near Threatened’ or ‘Vulnerable’ by IUCN Red List.

Habitat

Red howler monkeys inhabit a broad range of northwestern South American countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Venezuela, Peru, Suriname, and the island of Trinidad, among others. They predominantly dwell in the canopies of tropical deciduous forests and rainforests, with a special preference for Cecropia and teak trees.

Diet

Red howler monkeys’ diet consists of flowers, leaves, and fruit, with leaves making up to 60% of their food intake. They are picky eaters, carefully avoiding leaves that are toxic or harmful. They particularly prefer young, tender leaves which are not only easier to digest but also contain more protein and sugar.

Mating and breeding

Male Red howler monkeys follow a polygynous mating system (where one male mates with multiple females). A female typically initiates courtship by sticking out her tongue at a male and if there’s no response, she moves on to another male. Mating happens all year round and after a 6 month pregnancy, a single baby is usually born. By one month old, infants can use their tail to cling to their mother and ride on her back until they are one year old.

Weaning happens when the young monkeys are between 18 to 24 months old. Males often show affection to their direct offspring. Male red howlers reach sexual maturity at five years old, whereas females mature at four years old.

Violent dominance is prevalent among males

There’s intense competition among male red howler monkeys due to an unequal sex ratio. When male monkeys grow up, they’re kicked out of their birth group. These males then try to take over another group by killing their existing leader and his offspring, to eliminate any future competition. This violent takeover means that sadly – less than 25% of young monkeys survive such invasions.

Support Red Howler Monkeys by going vegan and boycotting palm oil and boycotting gold, it’s the #Boycott4Wildlife

Support the conservation of this species

This animal has no protections in place. Read about other forgotten species here. Create art to support this forgotten animal or raise awareness about them by sharing this post and using the #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags on social media. Also you can boycott palm oil in the supermarket.

Further Information

Link, A., Palacios, E., Cortés-Ortiz, L., Stevenson, P.R., Cornejo, F.M., Mittermeier, R.A., Shanee, S., de la Torre, S., Boubli, J.P., Guzmán-Caro, D.C., Moscoso, P., Urbani, B. & Seyjagat, J. 2021. Alouatta seniculus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T198676562A198687134. dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.202…. Accessed on 23 February 2023.

Cornejo, F.M., Boubli, J.P., Alves, S.L., Bicca-Marques, J.C., Cortés-Ortiz, L., Calouro, A.M. & de Melo, F.R. 2021. Alouatta puruensis (amended version of 2020 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T136787A190430767. dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.202…. Accessed on 26 May 2023.

Red Howler Monkey Wikipedia article – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuel…

Red Howler Monkey on The IUCN Red List site – iucnredlist.org/details/705474…

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3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

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#animals #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottGold #BoycottPalmOil #Brazil #Colombia #ColombianRedHowlerMonkeyAlouattaSeniculus #deforestation #Ecuador #ForgottenAnimals #gold #howler #hunting #hydroelectric #Mammal #meat #mining #monkey #monkeys #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #Peru #poaching #Primate #SouthAmericaSpeciesEndangeredByPalmOilDeforestation #soy #TrinidadAndTobago #Venezuela #VulnerableSpecies

Andean condor Vultur gryphus

Andean condor Vultur gryphus

Vulnerable

Resident: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile; Colombia, Ecuador; Peru, Brazil, Paraguay.

Possibly Extinct and Reintroduced: Venezuela, Bolivia

The Andean condor Vultur gryphus is one of the largest flying #birds in the world and arguably the most majestic, with a wingspan of up to 3.3 metres and a body weight of up to 15 kilograms. These amazing birds are able to soar for up to five hours and cruise for over 100 kilometres using only the wind currents, not flapping. These vultures are primarily scavengers, feeding on carrion from large carcasses such as deer, cattle, and marine mammals. With a striking black plumage and distinct white ruff around their necks, they are iconic symbols of the #Andes mountains. Despite their impressive size and strength, Andean #condors are classified as #Vulnerable from human-related threats including habitat loss for #palmoil, #soy and #meat #deforestation. Farmers persecute these beautiful birds putting poison into animal carcasses. Their slow reproductive rate makes their survival even more challenging. These birds are critical for ecosystems, disposing carrion. Thus they prevent the spread of diseases. Help them to survive by simply changing your diet and buying habits. #BoycottMeat and be #vegan #Boycott4Wildlife

youtu.be/KOrD-idZA44

Andean #Condors of #SouthAmerica 🦃 😻 are the largest flying #birds in 🌍 have a wingspan of 3.3. mtrs, they soar 100’s of km on the wind. They’re endangered due to intensive #agriculture. Help them survive, be #vegan #Boycott4Wildlife 🍉🥒 @palmoildetect wp.me/pcFhgU-8S0

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Soaring flying #birds of #Peru #Ecuador #Colombia and #Brazil, Andean #Condors are #vulnerable from #agriculture and ranchers poisoning them with #pesticide. Help these magnificent birds to survive! Be #vegan 🥕🥦 and #Boycott4Wildlife 🦅💚 @palmoildetect wp.me/pcFhgU-8S0

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Appearance & Behaviour

The Andean condor is a strangely beautiful and ecologically important bird. Their regal standing pose is an impressive height of 1.2 metres. With their wingspan reaching up to 3.3 metres. This makes Andean Condors the largest flying birds in the world by weight and wingspan combined. One study found that a condor was able to glide for over 100 kilometres without flapping their wings. They are built for soaring, using their large wings and air currents to glide effortlessly through the skies, often travelling more than 200 kilometres in a single day in search of food.

Adults are almost entirely black, except for a striking white frill around their necks and large white patches on their wings, which are only visible after their first moult.

The condor’s bald head and neck are red to blackish-red, and this colour can change rapidly depending on their emotional state. Males boast a dark red comb on their heads and a wattle on their necks, which are absent in females. Interestingly, males are larger than females, an unusual trait among birds of prey.

Andean Condors are social birds and form strong social hierarchies within their groups. Dominant males typically occupy the highest rank. Alpha males use body language, competitive play and vocalisations to establish their dominance. In flight, their long wings and bent-up primary feathers give them a unique silhouette, allowing them to soar for hours with minimal wing flapping.

Threats

Pesticide contamination

Widespread use of pesticides in agricultural areas is one of the most critical threats to Andean condors. When condors consume carcasses contaminated by these chemicals, they suffer from severe poisoning, which affects their health and reproductive success. This long-term exposure has a cumulative negative impact on condor populations .

Human-wildlife conflict

In rural areas, particularly in Bolivia, poisoned bait intended for predators like pumas has unintentionally killed condors. In 2021, 34 condors were found dead after consuming poisoned bait meant for other animals. This incident led the town of Laderas Norte to declare itself a protected reserve for condors, though the vast range of the species limits the effectiveness of localised protection .

Lead poisoning

Andean Condors are also exposed to lead poisoning when they consume carcasses shot with lead-based ammunition. This toxin can cause severe damage to their nervous systems and further reduce their already declining population .

Agricultural expansion

The expansion of agriculture for soy, meat, coffee and sugar cane is destroying the condors’ natural habitat. This destruction reduces their available foraging grounds and nesting areas. This also increases the likelihood of encounters with humans, further elevating the risk of persecution.

Persecution by farmers

Andean condors are often wrongly accused of attacking livestock, which leads to persecution through direct hunting or poisoning. Despite their preference for scavenging, these birds are sometimes seen as a threat by farmers .

Each of these threats compounds the challenges faced by the Andean condor, placing them at significant risk of further population decline. A combination of strong and urgent protection and better educational awareness of them as a species is necessary. As a consumer you can boycott meat and soy and be vegan (meat and soy are main sources of agricultural expansion throughout their range).

Habitat

The Andean condor can be found across South America, primarily in the Andes mountain range. Their range includes countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. They also inhabit coastal regions and, occasionally, lowland deserts and grasslands. Though rare, condors have been reported in Brazil, Venezuela, and Paraguay, but populations in these countries are thought to be vagrant. They are most often found in open grasslands and alpine areas, where they can spot carrion from the air.

Diet

Andean condors are obligate scavengers, meaning their diet primarily consists of carrion. They prefer large carcasses of deer, cattle, or marine mammals, and they have been known to feed on wild animals such as guanacos, llamas, and rheas. Along the coast, they often consume the beached carcasses of whales and sea lions. Occasionally, they may raid smaller birds’ nests to eat eggs or even hunt small mammals like rabbits and rodents, though this is rare. Despite their size, Andean condors do not possess strong talons for capturing prey and rely on their large beaks to tear into the tough hides of deceased animals.

Mating and breeding

Andean condors are monogamous and form lifelong pairs. During courtship, males display their dominance by inflating the skin around their necks, which changes from dull red to a brilliant yellow. They also engage in a series of elaborate displays, including wing spreading and vocalisations. Females lay one to two eggs, which hatch after an incubation period of 54 to 58 days. Both parents share in the incubation duties. Once the chick hatches, they remain with their parents for up to two years, learning to soar and hunt before becoming fully independent. Condors breed every two years, and due to their low reproductive rate, their populations are slow to recover from declines.

Support Andean Condor by going vegan and boycotting palm oil in the supermarket, it’s the #Boycott4Wildlife

Efforts to protect the Andean condor have gained momentum across South America. Numerous reintroduction programs, using captive-bred individuals, are in place in countries like Argentina, Colombia, and Chile. These programs are crucial, as the species faces threats from habitat loss, secondary poisoning, and direct persecution. Condors are often mistakenly targeted by farmers who perceive them as a threat to livestock.

In a significant and symbolic act of protection, the town of Laderas Norte in southern Bolivia became a reserve for Andean condors in 2021. After 34 condors were unintentionally killed by poisoned bait meant for pumas, the town passed a municipal law turning itself into a protected area for these birds. The Quebracho and Condor Natural Reserve, covering 3,296 hectares (8,145 acres), may not be vast enough to fully secure the condors’ daily roaming needs, but it is a powerful gesture showing community commitment to protecting this majestic species. This reserve also protects a key stand of white quebracho trees, adding further ecological value to the area.

Further Information

BirdLife International. (2020). Vultur gryphus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T22697641A181325230. dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.202…

Mongabay. (2023, December). Top stories of change from Latin America in 2023. Mongabay. news.mongabay.com/2023/12/top-…

Piña, C. I., Pacheco, R. E., Jacome, L., Borghi, C. E., & Pavez, E. F. (2020). Pesticides: The most threat to the conservation of the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus). Biological Conservation, 242, 108418. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.20…

Wikipedia contributors. (2023, September 11). Andean condor. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andean_c…

How can I help the #Boycott4Wildlife?

Take Action in Five Ways

1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

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Join 3,175 other subscribers

2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

Read more

Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

Read more

Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

Read more

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

Read more

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

Read more

How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

Read more

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status…

twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status…

twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1…

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

Pledge your support

Learn about other animals endangered by palm oil and other agriculture

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Learn about “sustainable” palm oil greenwashing

Read more about RSPO greenwashing

Lying
Fake labels
Indigenous Land-grabbing
Human rights abuses
Deforestation
Human health hazards

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

Read more

#Agriculture #AndeanCondorVulturGryphus #Andes #animals #Bird #birdOfPrey #birds #Bolivia #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottMeat #BoycottPalmOil #Brazil #carnivores #Colombia #Condors #deforestation #Ecuador #humanWildlifeConflict #hunting #industrialAgriculture #meat #meatAgriculture #PalmOil #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #Paraguay #Peru #pesticide #pesticides #predator #scavenger #SouthAmerica #soy #vegan #vulnerable #VulnerableSpecies

Palm Oil Detectives

2024-07-23 16:08:00

Snack giant PepsiCo allegedly sourced “sustainable” palm oil from razed Indigenous land in Peru

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PepsiCo‘s supply chain is allegedly linked to environmental and human rights violations in Peru, involving Amazon deforestation and Indigenous land invasion. For three years, palm oil from deforested Shipibo-Konibo territory has been used in products like Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Cheetos, Doritos and more. PepsiCo sources oil from Ocho Sur, a company notorious for environmental crimes and forest loss. The palm oil industry in Peru, which doubled production in a decade, is allegedly responsible for significant illegal deforestation, violent indigenous landgrabbing, animal extinction and human rights abuses. Take action every time you shop and #Boycottpalmoil for wildlife and Indigenous people.

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Corrupt so-called “sustainable” #palmoil is never far from your own fridge. Food #giant #PepsiCo, maker of snack favs #Cheetos #Gatorade gets #palmoil 🤮at the expense of Shipibo-Konibo people of #Peru 🇵🇪 Fight back and #BoycottPalmOil 🪔🚫 @palmoildetect wp.me/pcFhgU-8EG

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DYK the #palmoil in #food like #Doritos 🤒🤮 and #Gatorade 🫗 is linked to #indigenous #landgrabbing and violence in #Peru? 🇵🇪 It’s what the ads leave out that’s most important. Learn more about how you can #BoycottPalmOil 🧐 via @palmoildetect wp.me/pcFhgU-8EG

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youtube.com/watch?v=72e5HYiY7N…

The article below was originally published on April 18 2024 by Ojo Público and MongaBay. Written By Elisângela Mendonça , Aramís Castro , Andrew Wasley. Photography: David Díaz, Illustration by Claudia Calderón. This investigation was produced with support from the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network. Read more

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Sign petition: Tell PepsiCo stop destroying rainforests for palm oil!

PepsiCo’s profit-first palm oil policy is still destroying rainforests.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo keeps on promising that it’s working towards a truly sustainable palm oil policy, making commitments to human rights and zero deforestation. But this new report leaves no doubt: this whole time, PepsiCo’s palm oil promises have been nothing but smoke and mirrors.

Tell PepsiCo it’s time to cut ties with companies destroying our rainforests and exploiting their workers for cheap palm oil.

Sign the Eko petition

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Peruvian palm oil linked to environmental and human rights violations ended up in the supply chain for the makers of Gatorade and Cheetos

The US food and drink giant PepsiCo has been linked through its supply chain to Amazon deforestation and the invasion of Indigenous lands in Peru, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ), Mongabay and Peruvian outlet Ojo Público can reveal.

For at least three years, PepsiCo’s Peruvian suppliers have been sourcing palm oil from deforested territory claimed by the Shipibo-Konibo people in Ucayali, eastern Peru.

The company, which manufactures snacks including Cheetos and Gatorade, runs a factory in Mexico that buys Peruvian palm oil after it has been processed at a Mexican refinery. That refinery buys from a Peruvian consortium, Sol de Palma, that shares storage facilities with Ocho Sur, a notorious US-funded business accused of repeated environmental and human rights violations.

The storage facilities mix the various batches of palm oil, meaning PepsiCo products likely contain Ocho Sur oil despite no longer buying directly from the company.

Ocho Sur is linked to 155 sq km of forest loss in the past decade – both within its own property and through its direct suppliers. While some of the forest loss took place under other companies, satellite analyses by the Center for Climate Crime Analysis (CCCA) and TBIJ show clear deforestation on Ocho Sur’s land in the past three years.

Palm oil production in Peru has more than doubled in the past decade and Ucayali, a hotspot for cultivation on the border with Brazil, now has the country’s second-highest rate of forest loss. It’s estimated that about 30% of the country’s palm plantations are on illegally deforested land. Half of the oil is sent to international markets.

Today, Ocho Sur is the second-largest palm oil company in Peru. It was created in 2016 after acquiring the assets of two other controversial companies active in the region since 2012.

“Before 2012, the deforestation rates were pretty low,” said Tom Younger, an anthropologist working with the Forest Peoples’s Programme, an NGO. The arrival of palm oil plantations, he said, “set into motion some dynamics of land invasion and deforestation”.

Some of the forest loss on company-run oil palm plantations occurred on land claimed by the Santa Clara de Uchunya community of Shipibo-Konibo Indigenous people. They have endured a long and often hostile battle for recognition, and only a tiny portion of the 200 sq km of land the community claims has been formally titled.

In 2020, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a regional legal body, ordered the Peruvian state to protect the Santa Clara de Uchunya community against threats and land invasions.

Luisa Mori Gonzáles, president of the community’s defence front, says the arrival of the palm oil industry has affected their food supply and sown division.

“We use that territory to feed ourselves or to hunt,” she told TBIJ and Ojo-Público. “The company put it in their [other community members’] heads that they are going to have money and wealth – but that is a lie.”
Deforestation near the Santa Clara de Uchunya communityDavid Díaz/OjoPúblico

Neither Ocho Sur nor the liquidated companies whose assets it acquired had obtained the necessary environmental permit for their plantations. The Peruvian Agriculture Ministry sanctioned and fined the dissolved company Plantaciones de Ucayali in 2015 for failing to comply with an order to stop its activities. Ocho Sur eventually paid these fines in 2022, but by 2018 the companies had failed to conserve the legally required 30% of forest, the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has found. It is unclear whether the majority of the deforestation took place under Plantaciones de Ucayali or Ocho Sur.

Impunity for environmental crimes such as illegal deforestation is a major problem, according to Julia Urrunaga of the EIA, which recently published a report linking Peruvian palm oil to other well-known food and cosmetics companies.

“The authorities have the responsibility of guaranteeing that what is sold has a legal origin,” said Urrunaga.“If a product is being marketed that is being grown and produced in illegally deforested areas without a production permit, that should be an illegal product.”

Experts attribute the growth of palm oil in Latin America, today the second largest producing region for the industry outside south-east Asia – and the fastest growing – in part to its weaker regulation.

Earlier this year, Peru’s Congress approved a new amendment to its forest and wildlife law, loosening requirements for deforestation in “agriculture exclusion areas” and forgiving historic offences.

Robert Heilmayr, an environmental economist teaching at the University of California Santa Barbara, told TBIJ that while private-sector commitments have brought some positive advances in transparency in countries like Indonesia, the industry’s complexity makes full traceability a challenge.

He said: “It gets a little bit hard to know exactly where the fresh fruit bunches are coming from and there’s no third-party auditing of those supply lists.”

According to CCCA’s analysis, PepsiCo manufactures at least 15 products that contain Peruvian palm oil refined in Mexico – among them Doritos, Cheetos and Gatorade. It has pledged to make 100% of its palm oil supply deforestation-free by the end of 2022 and for its operation to be net zero by 2040.

Concerns about the legal origins of palm oil have also given rise to international initiatives like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the industry’s most widely used sustainability certification scheme.
The Santa Clara de Uchunya community of Shipibo-Konibo Indigenous people have only been officially granted a fraction of their claimed territory. Photo: David Díaz/OjoPúblico
Peru has ten RSPO members. Ocho Sur is not a member and only one of the companies in Sol de Palma’s consortium is.

PepsiCo said: “We take all inquiries like this seriously and have initiated an investigation through our established grievance process to assess whether any action on our part is required.” The company stressed that Ocho Sur is not a direct supplier and said it has engaged its direct suppliers to better understand their ties to Ocho Sur and ensure they take corrective actions if needed.

Ocho Sur said that it could not be held responsible for the actions of the companies whose assets it had taken over. It referred TBIJ to a document submitted to the UN in December 2023 that repeatedly states that it has no financial or legal links to one of those businesses. In the document it also strenuously denied sowing division in local communities and said that since its founding, the company had made special efforts “to forge a friendly, fruitful and mutually respectful relationship” with Indigenous and other groups. It said that it fully complies with all obligations with respect to Indigenous peoples’ rights and the environment and does not allow deforestation in its supply chain.

On the subject of environmental permits, Ocho Sur added: “The certification has been requested for a long time and [Midagri, the agriculture ministry] has failed to make a statement on the matter, granting it, as it should, or providing reasonable arguments to justify its refusal.”

Oleomex, owner of the Mexican refinery that supplies PepsiCo’s factory, said: “The oil we supply to our customer meets all sustainability standards as it is RSPO-certified oil.” However, it added that supply contracts with Ocho Sur were negotiated through a third party and that it has agreed to suspend them until the complaints raised in the investigation are resolved.

Sol de Palma did not comment.

Peruvian judges are yet to rule on whether Ocho Sur can be held responsible for past incursions into the Santa Clara de Uchunya community.

While the community awaits that ruling, Mori Gonzáles has vowed to continue protecting the territory: “We’re going to fight for as long as we can.”

The article below was originally published on April 18 2024 by OjoPúblico and MongaBay. Written By Elisângela Mendonça , Aramís Castro , Andrew Wasley. Photography: David Díaz, Illustration by Claudia Calderón. This investigation was produced with support from the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest Investigations Network.

ENDS

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