Just in case you missed the share-a-Coke craze, here’s another trend to complete our misery.
You’ve all seen it, a photo depicting two juxtaposed billboards advertising Nutella; that creamy overrated excuse for a chocolate spread that you can now buy with your name on it!
What could be better?
Oh, the sheer joy of sharing a corporate spread with a friend, who of course fits the profile of a Nutella aficionado.
The typical Nutella enthusiast will share countless images purporting their “cute” obsession with the brown snack. On facebook. On Instagram. In our faces. All the time.
But to make matters worse, today’s cause du jour falls under the banner of – surprise surprise -sectarian Nutella (à la Libanaise) with social media activists protesting the divide apparent in the two posters.
The Nutella ad to the left is written in English, and the names are evidently Christian. The one on the right is written in Arabic and addresses the “Sarahs, Hassans and Ahmads” of our country; the Muslims (though I’d like in on the “Sarahs” since they can be Christian or Jews for all I know).
Back to the photo. [
link]
The caption reads:
“So Christians speak English and Muslims speak Arabic?”
الاسلام منن مثقفين كفاية، او المسيحيين منن عرب كفاية؟
“Muslims lack education and Christians not Arab enough?”
Allow me to just hang my head in shame. Here we are getting all fired up on social media platforms once again over rhetorical and theoretical notions of existence. Religion, sectarianism, confessionalism, the “who did what to whom” and the “je suis toujours la victime”.
Fluff, utter and complete fluff.
Truth is, our outrage should be directed at the product itself and our ever growing demand for it.
THIS is what you should be angry about.
The first two ingredients of Nutella are sugar and palm oil.
Sugar is to our system what palm oil is to our ecosystem: complete destruction.
Palm oil has more than just a reputation problem. It is the largest driver of deforestation in Indonesia, and its growth is tied to some of Southeast Asia’s worst environmental problems. It is now an increasing threat in other regions that include Africa, now seen as the new frontier for palm oil industry.
Elsewhere, owners of sugar and palm oil plantations in Central America have systematically driven small farmers off their land and instituted a system of poorly paid seasonal labor under appalling conditions.
Palm oil is wreaking havoc on our planet and it’s almost in everything we buy. So unless we smarten up about our consumer choices and grow beyond the stereotypical arguments revolving around sectarianism and religion, we will remain our own worst enemy. And guess what? When the shit hits the fan, it won’t matter if you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Pastafarian, Atheist, Theist, or a blue ass baboon worshiper – it will affect us all.
It’s time to put these trivial issues behind us, the things that separate us, and instead focus on what really matters, what affects us all as a human race, as a species sharing a planet with countless other living organisms.
While there are counter arguments stating that Ferrero, the company that manufactures Nutella, has pledged commitment to ethical palm oil, the nature of the industry itself cannot exist without forest destruction to clear land for plantations. And given the rise in demand and our less than conscious consumer habits, which are always encouraged, I don’t see how that’s feasible.
And while I do not have a solution to the palm oil problem, I can only raise my voice against the corporations that market it, because hey, maybe someone will actually listen and share a piece that’s actually written to raise awareness on an issue that mostly remains in the dark.
Because
your choices matter.
Nadine Mazloum
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the view of LBCI.