What’s the deal with Palm Oil?
What is it?
It is oil made from nut and fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) native to Southwest Africa. These trees grow only in the tropics and most farming takes place in Southeast Asia. According to WWF, 90% of the worlds palm oil supply comes from two countries: Malaysia and Indonesia. This palm oil is then used in countless products from cosmetics, to hygiene products, and processed food. For example, here are a few products I found in my home that use palm oil or its derivative (see picture below)
What is it called?
If you are checking your products, here are a few sneaky names I found on my products of palm oil or its possible derivatives:
- Palm Oil (not so sneaky haha)
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
- Glyceryl Stearate (could be palm or another vegetable oil, it is unknown)
Why is it bad?
The palm trees needed to produce palm oil grow only in the tropics. Coincidentally, the tropics hold the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Palm oil farming has led to massive deforestation of these delicate forests. According to WWF, this deforestation leads to a whole host of undesirable outcomes including soil erosion, emission of greenhouse gases, pollution (air, soil, and water), and the loss of endangered species members. Some notable species threatened include Orangutans, Rhinos, and Tigers.
Apart from the environmental degradation, unsustainable farming practices can include underpaying and subjecting their workers to harsh/unsafe working conditions.
A possible remedy are the various alliances and groups that companies follow and partner with to ensure that they are using sustainable palm oil. The most well-known of these is the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). However, some environmentalists criticize that progress is slow, policies are not strict enough, and too many loopholes exist. The Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG) is one group that builds upon RSPO policies to create a stricter framework. POIG’s notable partners include L’Oréal and Ferrero.
Why is it good?
As WWF explains, palm oil has a high yield, meaning that palm oil produces more oil per hectare than other vegetable oils like coconut and avocado. Farmers will use less land to produce more palm oil for all the products that use oils. If these products could not use palm oil, they would switch to other oils like coconut etc to produce their product. This switch would use more resources to meet with the demand, creating a larger carbon footprint and relocating similarly destructive farming/harvest practices to other areas of the world.
Alternatives or not?
If you are buying products from companies that aren’t using palm oil sustainably then you should make a switch! You should check the WWF scorecard of your favorite brands and companies. This will help you navigate which products are created with sustainably sourced palm oil. If the scorecard hasn’t scored your favorite brand/company, you can check your products for the RSPO label or the Green Palm label. You can also check to see if your company is a member of the Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG). These signify that efforts have been taken by that brand to source sustainable palm oil. You can also write to companies that don’t currently have sustainable palm oil standards in an effort to convince them to adopt these practices and policies.
If using palm oil still doesn’t feel comfortable and you would like to cut down on your palm oil consumption, the easiest way is to eat whole foods and home-cooked meals. For meals that require oils (like olive oil in a salad dressing) use locally produced oils. You can also look for the Palm Oil Free Certification by the Orangutan Alliance on your products.
My Final Thoughts:
At the end of the day, as demand for palm oil increases, so too will the amount of land needed to create palm oil. Inevitably, this will lead to deforestation. I believe that in order to stop deforestation, the consumption of palm oil needs to decrease significantly. That being said, it would be impossible to completely remove palm oil from our lives. There are too many cosmetics, foods, and hygiene products that contain palm oil.
My personal approach is somewhat of a middle ground. I avoid processed foods as much as possible. However, I cannot avoid palm oil altogether so when I do need a product that uses palm oil, I make sure that the company has one of the sustainable palm oil labels or partnerships.
Other info and tools:
Check out the score of various companies that you may frequent or produce products you use!
http://palmoilscorecard.panda.org/
Here is a nice list of names to look out for (it might just be easier to stick to safe companies)
https://www.treehugger.com/sneaky-names-palm-oil-4858743
Below is a link to WWF’s page on the impacts of palm oil:
https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/palm-oil
Here is a link to an article highlighting research on the efficacy of palm oil certifications, it’s a very interesting read.