Appetite for Destruction: The Palm Oil Diaries
Movie · Documentary

The palm oil industry has papered over vast swathes of the planet, much of it valuable and ecologically diverse. Forty million tonnes are produced annually, and it can be found in 50% of all packaged foods. Travelling from Cameroon, to Guatemala, to Colombia the doc investigates what has catalysed this new industry and the social and environmental impact of it's exponential growth. Palm oil has dominated the environmental press in recent years, amid claims of deforestation and the detrimental effects of monoculture. Michael Dorgan set out to investigate these claims. In Cameroon, where palm oil has been cultivated for almost two centuries, the palm plantations have stayed consistent in size, and remain largely small scale family operations. The community revolves around the plantation, and the wealth it generates supports hospitals and schools. But in Guatemala it’s a very different story. The local Mayan population are forced into selling their land to the palm companies, and branded terrorists if they resist. This crafted doc questions whether palm oil is quite the Godsend that many initially thought it was?

2016 · 59m
Starring Michael Dorgan
Director Michael Dorgan

Trailers

  • Appetite for Destruction: The Palm Oil Diaries
    Documentary

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Cast & Crew

  • M‌D
    Michael Dorgan
    Presenter
  • M‌D
    Michael Dorgan
    Director
  • M‌D
    Michael Dorgan
    Producer
  • F‌M
    Felicity Mungovan
    Producer

About

Appetite for Destruction: The Palm Oil Diaries

Documentary

The palm oil industry has papered over vast swathes of the planet, much of it valuable and ecologically diverse. Forty million tonnes are produced annually, and it can be found in 50% of all packaged foods. Travelling from Cameroon, to Guatemala, to Colombia the doc investigates what has catalysed this new industry and the social and environmental impact of it's exponential growth. Palm oil has dominated the environmental press in recent years, amid claims of deforestation and the detrimental effects of monoculture. Michael Dorgan set out to investigate these claims. In Cameroon, where palm oil has been cultivated for almost two centuries, the palm plantations have stayed consistent in size, and remain largely small scale family operations. The community revolves around the plantation, and the wealth it generates supports hospitals and schools. But in Guatemala it’s a very different story. The local Mayan population are forced into selling their land to the palm companies, and branded terrorists if they resist. This crafted doc questions whether palm oil is quite the Godsend that many initially thought it was?

Information

Studio
The Orchard
Released
2016
Run Time
59 min
Rated
PG-13
Region of Origin
Cameroon
© 2016 Go Forth Films

Languages

Original Audio
English
Audio

English (AAC)

Subtitles

English (CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
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Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港 (廣東話–繁體)
  • Indonesia (English)
  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • 澳門 (廣東話–繁體)
  • Malaysia (English)
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Mongolia
  • New Zealand
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • 대한민국
  • 台灣
  • Thailand
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