If, like me, you are a fan of the odd goodie every now and then, it may come as a surprise that treats such as Oreos, Kit-Kats and Pringles are the latest foods to come under fire from Greenpeace.

In a new report published this week, Greenpeace have revealed how the growing demand for palm oil, which is contained in such products, is causing the destruction of Indonesian peat forest and contributing to global warming.

The Indonesian peatlands on the island of Sumatra are unique, tropical forests, but are being destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations, and as the forests are some of the world’s great carbon sinks, storing a massive 14.6 billion tons of carbon, their destruction is already resulting in four percent of annual global emissions.

Research conducted by Greenpeace from its Forest Defenders Camp in Sumatra documents how a major Indonesian palm oil producer is engaging in the large-scale, illegal destruction of peatland in violation of an Indonesian presidential order and national forestry regulations. Palm oil from peatland destruction is fed into the supply chain for global brands such as companies Unilever, Cargill, Procter & Gamble, Dove soap, Nestlé, Kraft and Burger King –many of which Greenpeace claim are turning a blind eye to peatland destruction for cheap vegetable oil.

“This investigation shows that a handful of international corporations are ultimately responsible for slashing and burning Indonesia’s peatland forests for food, fuel and laundry detergent,” said Emmy Hafild, Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “Some of the best known brands in the world are literally cooking the climate.”

The report also examines the use of palm oil as a biofuel, and reveals that replacing forests and peatlands with palm oil plantations releases more carbon dioxide than is saved by burning biofuels in place of diesel.

The ‘cooking the climate’ report, however, is not designed to encourage consumers to boycott products containing palm oil – a virtually impossible task, but to ensure that political leaders will take action to cut global warming at next month’s UN climate conference in Indonesia.