Liberians are reported to have been beaten, threatened, and arrested for taking a stand against one of the world's biggest palm oil plantations as it sweeps across the southeast of the country, a new Global Witness exposé revealed.
As Liberia emerges as a new frontier market for the world's cheapest, most popular vegetable oil, The New Snake Oil details how state officials are said to be helping the palm oil company Golden Veroleum (GVL) "harass communities into signing away their land and crush dissent." The report also documents the huge foreign investment, state-sanctioned violence, and regulatory black holes that are making this possible.
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