Well, at least I know now why I couldn't find anything about the committee on the British Retail Consortium's website. I received a reply to my email (the one that used the contact form of the BRC) yesterday, *very* fast: it was sent by someone from the BRC, but explained:
"The Retailers’ Palm Oil Group (RPOG) is an independent group, which is facilitated by (my emphasis) the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and chaired by a representative from Royal Ahold. It consists of retailers interested in the drive to secure certified sustainable palm oil to join the group and take advantage of its benefits.... The group comprises 14 European retailers including: Royal Ahold (chair), Asda, Boots (UK), Coles, Co-op Switzerland, Co-operative Food (UK), Delhaize Group, Kingfisher, Marks & Spencer, Migros, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Body Shop International, and Waitrose. "
These are the people that hold one of the retail "seats" on the Roundtable, work on the committees and working groups of the Roundtable, keep up with market developments and ensure market compliance.
Hmmm. I'd love to see the amount of paperwork and travel generated by that little lot.
In a comment on my first post about this, my friend Cheerful pointed me to this brilliant article: http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/976417/can_the_palm_oil_we_eat_ever_be_wildlifefriendly.html
and Cheri has pointed me to a recent Radio 4 programme:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b016kgv1/Food_Programme_Palm_Oil/
You know, that original article in the Waitrose paper, that they got a high score in a recent assessment of their best practices, seemed so simple. But the ramifications ... particularly of what Cheerful and Cheri have found - are astonishing. And worrying.
Palm oil causes between a quarter and a third of deforestation in South East Asia. Time to take note once again of the ingredients lists in your weekly shop.
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