Orangutans being wiped out to make chocolates

Orangutans are being wiped out to make KitKat chocolates as the palm oil ingredient in the chocolate is grown on Indonesian land cleared of rainforest where the rare apes live.

A new probe has claimed that endangered orangutans are being wiped out to make KitKat chocolates.

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According to a report in The Sun, the palm oil ingredient in the KitKat chocolate is allegedly grown on Indonesian land cleared of rainforest where the rare apes live.

Greenpeace claims that the work is carried out by a company using illegal methods. The worldwide trade in the oil is considered the single greatest factor threatening the orangutan.

In letters to Greenpeace, seen by The Sun, Nestle has admitted buying palm oil from PT Smart, part of the Indonesian giant Sinar Mas. Over the past two years Greenpeace found evidence of Sinar Mas clearing rainforest for plantations in the Papua province.

It means the apes are forced out of forests as they are cut down and end up on palm oil plantations. They are regarded as a ‘pest’ and are killed or sold to protect the crop. At least 1,500 have died in one year.

Sinar Mas is alleged to have persistently broken forestry laws. Unilever, makers of Magnum, Cornetto and Ben and Jerry’s cancelled its 20 million pound deal with Sinar Mas last year.