THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING HABITAT

THE CANDY CULPRIT

GOOD DETECTIVE STRATEGIES

NEED HELP? TRY THESE:

Helpful Hints
Sample Letters
Create a Slideshow Presentation
How to Create a Meme or Infographic
How to Cite Project Sources
Helpful Web Sources
Helpful Resources on This Website
Learn More About the World’s Tropical Rainforests

Helpful Hints

It takes a lot of time to do good searching and researching. Be persistent. Also, there are different names for the same things. Don’t let that throw you off your trail.
Just inputting exactly what you want to know can be surprisingly easy and helpful. Examples:

- “Does Brand X candy use palm oil or its derivatives?”
- “Is the GLOBODON company participating in rainforest destruction?”

Always consider your sources. What is the objective of a source? Every source probably has some bias, even if it is just to get you to subscribe to their channel or newsletter!
Smart questions sometimes get smart answers. You may get the run-around, and not necessarily the answer you’re looking for even if, and maybe especially if, you have a really good question.
In case you need help writing your letter, here are a couple of different sample letters you can use as a template. The first is for if you have found that there is palm oil in your candy and are questioning how it was sourced. The second is more of a fan letter, for if you have found that the company is environmentally friendly. Feel free to use these samples to help you with your letter, but obviously put your letter into your own words.

Sample Letters to the Candy Boss

SAMPLE LETTER 1

Dear Consumer Advocate at GLOBODON,

My Name is Phylis Spade. I am a 23rd grader at the School of Hard Knocks. Recently, I became aware of the red-chested mustached tamarin and her life in the rainforest. I love Brand X candy, but I am very concerned about how the home of this tamarin is being destroyed by human activities. Can you tell me where the palm oil in Brand X is sourced? Can you direct me to someone at the company who is making decisions about environmental impact and sustainability? I would really like to keep purchasing Brand X, but sustainable practices that do not contribute to species loss is a necessity for all of us humans if we want to protect our friends like the red-chested mustached tamarin. Thank you for your help!

Sincerely,

Phylis Spade
Grade 23, School of Hard Knocks

SAMPLE LETTER 2

Dear Customer Service at Sweet Candy Corporation,

My name is Phylis Spade and I am a student at the School of Hard Knocks. I have been doing a project about deforestation and how it is linked to palm oil. I learned that (my client animal,) the red-chested mustached tamarin, is losing her home at an alarming rate and palm oil production is a big part of that problem! I was very happy to find the my favorite candy, Yummy Gummys, does not use any palm oil or palm oil derivatives. When I investigated other candies you produce, I found out that your are part of a Rainforest Certified Alliance. Can you let me know a little more about your work in that alliance and what it means? I am really happy to find this out and just wanted to let you know that your environmental practices are important to me and my enjoying your candy.

Sincerely,

Phylis Spade
Grade 23, School of Hard Knocks

Create a Meme or Infographic

We use Canva to create many or our graphic designs. You can create beautiful memes, infographics, social media posts, and posters with Canva’s free account. Teachers may be eligible for a free CanvaPro account. Try it at www.canva.com.

Create your own designs with what you’ve learned during this project. Memes and infographics look great on social media and they help spread the good word about what everyone can do to help species that are endangered by palm oil production.

SAMPLE MEME (DON’T COPY OURS. CREATE YOUR OWN!)

How to Cite Your Project Sources

When citing sources, there are certain formats or styles that are generally accepted for different fields of study. If you are doing this project for school, there will be a specific style your teacher will most likely ask you to use. Common core uses APA style. If you want to know how to cite a website in APA style, here is a helpful page: Caulfield,J (2019). How to Cite A Website in APA style. Retrieved in June 2020 from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/cite-a-website/

If you are doing this project on your own, just ensure you list WHAT your source is and WHERE you found it so anyone looking at your project could follow your lead. If it is a website, make sure you have the URL.

Helpful Website Sources

Names For Palm Oil Derivatives In Everyday Products, Products without Palm Oil: https://productswithoutpalmoil.com/names-for-palm-oil-derivatives/

Alternative Names for Palm Oil, Orangutan Alliance: https://orangutanalliance.org/alternative-names-for-palm-oil

Sisters Successfully Pressure Kellogg’s Food Company into Sustainably Sourcing All of Their Palm Oil to Help Orangutans, Good News Network: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/sisters-pressure-kellogg-into-sustainably-sourcing-their-palm-oil/

Chocolate Retailer Scorecard, Green America: https://www.greenamerica.org/retailer-chocolate-scorecard

Don’t Buy Candy with Palm Oil, Instead Try One of these Rain Forest-Friendly Options, Sunshine Guerilla: https://www.sunshineguerrilla.com/2019/06/dont-buy-candy-with-palm-oil-instead/

Products Without Palm Oil, Primate Rescue Center: https://www.primaterescue.org/happy-halloween-with-palm-oil-free-candy/

The Reasons Why Palm Oil is So Controversial, The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/palm-oil-health-impact-environment-animals-deforestation-heart-a8505521/

Impacts of the palm oil industry, SPOTT (Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit): https://www.spott.org/palm-oil-resource-archive/impacts/

Palm Oil’s Dirty Secret: The Many Ingredient Names For Palm Oil, Rainforest Action Network: https://www.ran.org/the-understory/palm_oil_s_dirty_secret_the_many_ingredient_names_for_palm_oil/

Tips for the Easter Bunny: A Guide to Ethical Easter Eggs, Good on You: https://goodonyou.eco/tips-for-the-easter-bunny-a-guide-to-ethical-easter-eggs/
The Ultimate Guide to Having a Green Halloween, Good on You: https://goodonyou.eco/ultimate-guide-green-halloween/

Don’t Get Tricked Into Passing Out Industrial Palm Oil This Halloween!, Sierra Club: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/don-t-get-tricked-passing-out-industrial-palm-oil-halloween

What’s in Your Candy?: The Palm Oil Crisis, Brevard Zoo: https://brevardzoo.org/whats-in-your-candy-the-palm-oil-crisis/

Mars aims to tackle “broken” cocoa model with new sustainability scheme, Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cocoa-mars-sustainability/mars-aims-to-tackle-broken-cocoa-model-with-new-sustainability-scheme-idUSKCN1LZ1DZ

Helpful Resources on This Website

Learn More About the World’s Tropical Rainforests

Visit Life in the World’s Tropical Rainforests