Megan Davies

Nov., 1st 2018

Informative Speech: Audience Assessment

Specific Goal:​ My audience will understand some of the negative effects of the palm oil industry.

Identify in one phrase exactly the ONE meaningful idea you want your audience to understand. You will
echo this idea again in your thesis and finally in your conclusion. You will not say your specific goal out
loud.

The over-production of palm oil is detrimental to the humans and the environment.

My Narrowed Topic:
a. Strategy: I’ll teach my topic by ​explanation.​{choose one or two of the following four strategies for
informative speeches: ​definition/demonstration/explanation/description}.

b. Narrow Focus: The focus of your speech must be narrow enough for a five –minute “post-hole”
(narrow but deep) speech. Narrow your topic twice (choose one of your points and turn that into your
entire speech).

Original topic: ​The palm oil industry is harmful to environment, animals, and health and is fueled by
consumers.
Narrower topic ​How the palm oil industry effects the world
Even narrower topic ​The palm oil industry in unethical as it is now, heres why.​ (use this for your speech
topic)
​

Ethos:​ -Primary Ethos: I have done some personal research on it.

-Secondary Ethos: I will cite 5 expert references.
NOTE: A minimum of three references is required. If you choose a number less than three, stop now. Go
back and find more authoritative references. YOU do not count as a reference.

Audience Knowledge Level: Most audience members have heard of palm oil and know that it is
affecting orangutans.

Adaptation to Audience Knowledge: I will help my audience understand my topic by giving more insight to
the main ethical concerns of palm oil production.
How will you connect with your audience’s interests? I will show a video, use citations, use pathos.

Pattern of Organization: I’ll use a problem/solution pattern of organization.

​
 Informative Speech: Full Sentence Outline

Is Palm Oil Ethical?

Introduction: Video

I. Hook: Did you know that according to Onegreenplanet.org, approximately 300 football fields of
forest are cleared every HOUR to make room, JUST for palm fruit plantations?

II. Thesis: Even though the palm oil industry has been good for the economies or some
Southeast Asian countries, it’s over-production is more harmful than it is helpful and its impact
can be seen, not only locally, but on a global level, and I am going to show you why..

III. Preview: Today, I’ll share with you how the palm oil industry negatively impacts the world
around us,
​1. By first, sharing how the over production of palm oil impacts the environment,
​2. Next, by showing some of the impacts the palm oil industry has on the indigenous peoples
that live in the regions where palm oil is farmed.
​3. Third, by sharing how the palm oil industry negatively impacts the wildlife in palm oil farming
regions.
4. And finally I will share what palm oil is used for and how we can be more conscious as
consumers..

Transition: So, let’s get started.

Body
I. ​The first issue​​ with over-production of palm oil its effect on the environment. ​One of the
negative impacts is deforestation.
A. ​Deforestation​​ is devastating to Earth’s ecology. ​According to​​ the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization, or FAO, an estimated 18 million acres of forests, roughly the size of
the country Panama, are cleared EVERY YEAR. ​The FAO​​ has estimated that about half of the
earth’s tropical forests have been cleared thus far.
i. ​But what implications​​ does deforestation have on Earth’s ecology? ​Simply put​​,
deforestation is devastating locally and globally. ​Deforestation ​is one of the leading causes of
climate change, because when trees respire (perform photosynthesis), they, in essence recycle
carbon dioxide back into breathable oxygen, and thereby, reducing a major greenhouse gas that
contributes to climate change. ​Additionally, ​after the logging stage of deforestation, the
remaining vegetation is often burned to clear the land, creating even more carbon dioxide, with
less trees to convert it back to oxygen, it becomes a compounding issue.
B. ​Another issue​​ with deforestation for palm oil, is the clearing of peatlands in the regions.
Peatlands​​ are often boggy areas consisting of “peat” which is a rich, organic soil that is made
up of partially decomposed vegetation. ​Peatlands​​ are often drained, cleared and burned to
make space for palm plantations. ​However, this poses​​ and even greater threat to the
environment than typical deforestation. ​According to The Union of Concerned Scientists​​,
peat is a carbon-rich soil that can hold 18-28 times the amount of carbon than the trees that
grow in it. ​So, when it is burned​​, it releases the extra carbon it is holding into the air, along with
the smoke from the fire, which is then compounded by the loss of the carbon-absorbing peat
that would normally absorb carbon from the air.

Transition: ​Other problems with deforestation ​are erosion, mudslides, the creation of
wastelands, and of course, the destruction of the habitats and livelihood of living beings.

II. ​Specifically, the Palm Oil industry negatively impacts the indigenous peoples​​ of the
regions in which it’s produced.
A. ​Palm Oil is produced in regions​​ which consists of indigenous peoples who dwell in the
forests and have inherited rights to the land that the Palm Oil industry wish to use for additional
plantations. ​According to The ​Schuster Institute ​for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis
University, due to confusing laws, a hectare of land in Indonesia (which is close to 2 acres) is
often sold for as little as $1. ​Many of the sellers​​ say they never see the money after the sale.
This is an egregious abuse​​ of human rights and wreaks havoc on the communities who are
manipulated out of their rightful land on the hope that the sale will profit their families and
communities. ​The indigenous peoples are being coerced​​ into smaller areas of land that are
not adequate for the small-scale farming that they need to be able make a living on their own to
support their families.

Transition: ​There are other kinds of families​​ that occupy these regions that affected by the
Palm Oil industry.

III. ​Animals such as the Bornean Elephant,​​ the Sumatran Tiger, and of course, the Orangutan
are being pushed close to extinction due to the Palm Oil industry.
A. ​When looking into the negative impacts​​ of palm oil production, one of the first things you
will come across are the effects of the palm oil industry on the orangutan population,
specifically. It is estimated that 50,000 orangutans have been killed directly or indirectly by the
palm oil industry. ​They have been found buried alive​​, starved, bludgeoned to death or killed
by machete hacks. ​This either​​ happens by the workers who are clearing the land, or because
the starving orangutans wander into local villages looking for food. ​Often the babies ​are stolen
and sold as pets. ​They estimate​​ that there are approximately ​45,000​​ orangutans left, but that
at this rate, they will be ​extinct in about 25 years ​if nothing is done to protect the orangutans
and the palm oil industry continues its current practices.

Transition: ​I’ve shown you some of the negative impacts ​of the Palm Oil industry, but ​what
can be done ​to help slow down its path of destruction?

IV. Well, according to The​ European Palm Oil alliance, ​palm oil is used in food items such as
margarine, confections, chocolate, ice cream and bakery products. ​It is also widely used in
non-food products such as soap, candles, and cosmetics. ​More than half​​ the products on sale
in the supermarket are made with palm oil. Palm oil is also used in other countries as a biofuel.

We can see that the palm oil industry ​is destructive, and we as consumers have the ultimate
power to either support the industry or allow it to slowly reduce to something less harmful to the
environment, without immediately ripping away the livelihoods of the farmers who depend on it
to feed their families. ​ If we stop buying products​​ with palm oil in the ingredients, there will be
less demand for palm oil, and less deforestation to accommodate it. Additionally, if we push for
more responsibly sourced palm oil, more company’s may accommodate our demands.
Hopefully ​we can make a shift that will be gentle on the the earth, and on the people and the
animals who live in the palm oil growing regions.

Finally, I’d like to say that in t​​his day and age, there are so many causes and movements to
be a part of, that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and want to put our heads in the sand and avoid
the issues, but I just want to empower us as consumers to remember that our wallets have
mystical powers!! ​What we choose to buy​​ directly shapes the world we live in. If we can make
small changes to our shopping lists, we can create a better world for ourselves and future
generations, globally. ​And just as, we don’t live in the ​palm oil growing regions and aren’t able
to see the devastation of the ecosystem first hand, ​the farmers, the indigenous​​ peoples and
the orangutans AREN’T THE ONES consuming the palm oil products and yet, they are
completely at the mercy of our choices and our careless whims.

Conclusion:

I. ​So, to conclude, I’ve shown how the ​the palm oil industry is detrimental to the environment,
the indigenous peoples and wildlife of the palm oil farming regions, but we, as consumers, hold
the power to stop the destruction by limiting or completely refusing to buy products containing
palm oil or its derivatives.
II. Bookend:​ In just the time it took me to share this message,​​ 25-30 football fields worth of
forests were cut just down for palm oil. The earth does not have endless resources and every
tree cut down results in more greenhouse gasses, hence a faster rate of climate change, and as
a result, disaster for life as we know it, on this planet.

III. End the speech memorably: ​So, Now that you know ​that YOU have mystical powers that
can change the course of life on the planet, who will you choose to be --a Luke, or an Anakin?
References:

European Palm Oil Alliance. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2018, from

https://www.palmoilandfood.eu/en/palm-oil-uses

Palm Oil Controversies, Indigenous Peoples' Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2018, from
http://www.schusterinstituteinvestigations.org/palm-oil-controversies-indigenous-people

The Problem with Palm Oil and What You Can Do About It. (2018, October 29). Retrieved from

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/the-problem-with-palm-oil-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

What's Driving Deforestation: Palm Oil. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2018, from

https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/stop-deforestation/drivers-of-deforestation-2016-palm-oil#.W9rxua2ZMnU

What's Driving Deforestation: Palm Oil. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2018, from

https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/stop-deforestation/drivers-of-deforestation-2016-palm-oil#.W9rxua2ZMnU