| Dear UCS supporter, Ever had a Big Mac or an Egg McMuffin? Then you've also consumed some of the palm oil McDonald's uses to thicken and grease its food. Unfortunately, the way most of it is produced is bad for our planet. Standard palm oil production practices slash and burn more than a million acres of tropical forest each year, decimating wildlife habitat and releasing tons of global warming emissions into the atmosphere.1 Shutting down the market for palm oil produced this way will have a huge impact. In just the last year, we've convinced 12 other major companies like Dunkin' Brands, Colgate-Palmolive, and PepsiCo to switch to deforestation-free palm oil. Getting McDonald's to join them is going to be the toughest challenge of this campaign—but we can do it with your help. Will you pitch in $10 or more now to win again on palm oil and defend science in 2015? As the fast food industry's largest palm oil user, McDonald's could literally cut tons of global warming emissions and save thousands of animals' lives just by making this one change.2 But McDonald's is likely to push back even harder than the other corporations. Luckily, we know how to get companies to act: address their bottom lines. Our experts work with executives face to face to address each company's unique situation. We don't tell them they can't use palm oil. We use data to show them that they can switch to sustainably produced palm oil without skyrocketing costs. Once they're on board, we offer our help in drafting new policies that meet their needs and our demands. And when the friendly approach doesn't work, we rally hundreds of thousands of UCS activists to make noise. We're not naive. Many companies—like many politicians—need that extra grassroots pressure holding them accountable before they'll do what's sensible, and what's right. We did it with Dunkin' Brands—showing up at their shareholder meeting with signs in hand. And we'll continue doing whatever it takes to stop the devastation palm oil is wreaking on our tropical forests and our atmosphere. Help push McDonald's and other companies to do the right thing on palm oil—and keep tons of global warming emissions out of the atmosphere. Make a tax-deductible gift now to power our campaign. Even $10 makes a big difference when thousands of UCS supporters join together to strengthen our work. Your extra generous gift now means we won't have to choose between one hard-hitting pressure tactic and another. Your support means we can grow the work that's most effective. That's what we're trying to do right now. Convincing 12 global companies to do the right thing on palm oil required the grassroots backing and financial support of people like you. In fact, UCS activists sent more than 750,000 letters to these companies—our largest grassroots effort to date! McDonald's and the other companies still on our list—they're going to be even tougher sells. I know UCS supporters won't back down. You've shown it time and time again. Please, pitch in now to help grow this important work. Thank you for helping bring about a sea change in corporate policies that will make a real difference in the fight against global warming.  | Sincerely,
Ken Kimmell
President
Union of Concerned Scientists |
1. http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/stop-deforestation/palm-oil-infographic.html#learn
2. http://blog.ucsusa.org/mcdonalds-palm-oil-commitment-fails-on-national-fast-food-day-728 | 
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