36
IMPACT
The Pros and Cons of Palm Oil Anna has looked into the ecological and social benefits and detriments of one of the sneakiest, but most useful products out there: palm oil.
Although palm oil trees originated in Africa, these days Indonesia and Malaysia provide 85% of the global supply. It’s an ingredient found in loads of supermarket products, from pizza and chocolate to shampoo, soap and make-up. There are many reasons why palm oil is a highly ubiquitous product: it doesn’t oxidise so it can increase the shelf-life of products, it has a semi-solid consistency at room temperature (meaning that spreads, like Nutella, can retain their texture), and in African and Asian countries, it is a popular choice for cooking oil.
“ Palm oil plantations have dramatically increased the employment opportunities in what are still developing countries ” Due to high demand, the palm oil industry is helping to fuel the economies of these countries. Palm oil plantations have dramatically increased the employment opportunities in what are still developing countries, which, in turn, has decreased poverty and improved infrastructure and local services for workers and their communities. Palm oil also has a very high yield; this means that it takes up a lot less land in order to produce a lot more oil, making it very efficient in comparison to other vegetable crops.
Although palm oil is an invaluable ingredient for a variety of popular products, it does come with an environmental price. Vast areas of biodiverse rainforest in South-East Asian countries, such as Borneo, have been cut down. The extent of the habitat destruction is currently threatening the existence of many species; the Pygmy Elephant and Sumatran Tiger to name just two. This deforestation is also contributing to climate change, as millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases are being expelled into the atmosphere which would have been absorbed by the felled trees. On a social level, corporations are stealing land from indigenous populations without any compensation, unsurprisingly causing conflicts.
“ The extent of the habitat destruction is currently threatening the existence of many species; the Pygmy Elephant and Sumatran Tiger to name just two ” However, this story is not all doom and gloom. With climate change being a prevailing global issue and increasing numbers of the world population taking steps to make their lifestyles more eco-friendly, vast improvements have been made in the sourcing and production of palm oil. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was created in 2004 to promote the use and growth of sustainable palm oil through global standards. The organisation currently has over 4,000 members spanning over 92 countries. On a national level, 75% of total palm oil imports to the UK came from sustainable sources in 2016. On an individual level, there are things you can do to reduce your consumption of palm oil. Avoiding palm oil completely is very unrealistic, but you can however avoid as many products containing palm as possible, and instead buy palm oil free products, or items that contain sustainable palm oil. Some popular alternatives include Meridian peanut butter, Dove and Lush beauty products, and household items sold by Ecover and Ecoleaf. Don’t worry, you can still indulge in Nutella once in a while, but perhaps reduce your consumption, or think about buying a palm oil free alternative.
Anna Scott
Images courtesy of peakpx & Flikr
We’ve all heard of palm oil and you’re probably aware that its production has devastating effects on the environment. For example, the creation of palm oil plantations threatens many endangered species, such as the orangutan. Yet many of us aren’t fully educated on just how detrimental it is, not only environmentally, but also socially.
