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Some crazy facts:

• Most christmas presents come in unnecessary packaging ... remember that ! 

  (It is not about music. If it is today, yet it isn't in general, ...)

• My brother lives in Malaysia.

• Here is a Christmas song, it's the only one (that I know of) about Orang Utans and Elephants in that context.

Hit play - then let us connect some dots:

(S)he, who grew up in the eighties and nineties, will probably recognize that this is not really The Flaming Apes, who serve us this delight called Xmas tastes Metallica. The curious one may look up Clouds Taste Metallic, to get to the real album source, the track that is originally called Christmas At The Zoo. 

As the song is left in tact (not remixed) even the reference to some Heavy Metal brand is unnecessary. (Unnecessary packaging fact: tick, Now you apply this to your Christmas.)

But what is necessary and even more useful, is to check your Palm Oil counter, if you love Orang Utans. 

Apparently Malaysian palm oil bounced back above MYR 4,800 per tonne in early December* which is not good news for Orang Utans, and the (developed and properous) world is really concerned. Concerned about reduced life habitat of this ape and many other species. Not dinosaurs (though this is good clip too.)

What's the connection to Xmas, you may ask - FYI - Palm Oil is one of the most extensively used vegetable oils in the world. It is cheap and highly versatile and used for a huge range of products appearing on your shopping list this Christmas. (Chocolate, Shampoo, Pizza, ... unbelievable, right ?) While shopping it may take you a while to check the ingredients of each product and you may need reading glasses to dechiffre the microscopic print too. Often palm oil appears even "renamed'. So perhaps get started researching at home, to inform yourself and check for alternatives before you do the shopping trip. 

Start here: https://giki.earth/how-to-check-for-palm-oil-in-our-supermarkets

or here: https://www.greenmatters.com/p/palm-oil-alternatives

Disappointment for my brother - Maltesers made by Mars with chocolate may contain Palm Oil.

Despite the fact that this is possibly the only Xmas song featuring Orang Utans in the lyrics, my family and I wish we will have the opportunity to hear (and write) more xmas songs about encounters with Orang Utans in the future. If there was only one Orang Utan left in the world, that would be quite difficult for him/her in terms of mating, you know.

Love & Peace & Chocolate too

 

*source: https://tradingeconomics.com

Contact the government in Malaysia: https://www.malaysia.gov.my/portal/contact they also offer to listen to concerns via E-participation here, but I have not worked out yet how this actually works.

Here a Book for Xmas: "How Bad are Bananas?" by Mike Berners-Lee. Look inside here and then buy it somewhere else. Ideally second hand : )

 

 

I know a joke about monkeys and elephants ...

... it doesn't end well.