Should I boycott palm oil?

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Written by Minnie | Should I boycott palm oil?

I think most of us know there’s an issue with palm oil – right? And, some of us may have wondered if we should boycott palm oil. What I didn’t know is that totally boycotting palm oil could have unintended consequences.

What is palm oil and how is it used?

Palm oil is another gift from nature. It’s an extraordinarily versatile, edible ingredient most often found in our homes through products we have purchased at the supermarket. Around 50 percent of goods on supermarket shelves contain palm oil.

It helps to keep spreads spreadable, fried food crispy and gives baked goods volume. In toiletries, cosmetics and other household products it is used for its moisturising, foaming and texturing abilities.

Palm oil can also be used as a biofuel – a fuel that is derived from living matter such as plants, algae or even animal waste. This can be processed to create biodiesel to help fuel vehicles.

Palm oil is derived from the pulp of the fruit from oil palm trees. Oil palms need a warm, humid climate to grow which makes tropical forests the perfect environment for them.

There are around 44 countries in the world that produce palm oil but over 85% of global supply comes from Malaysia and Indonesia. These countries also have some of the most biodiverse tropical forests on our planet. (1)

Hope and devastation

I started looking into whether I should boycott palm oil. After just a little research I learnt how some remote communities and farmers rely on palm oil production to support their families; how palm oil production has played a vital role in the reduction of poverty, in strengthening economies and enabling the development of rural infrastructure; including roads, schools and healthcare facilities, in the producing countries.

But sadly the sustained demand for palm oil, and potential for lucrative profits from plantations, has created space for exploitation and irresponsible palm oil production. From human rights abuses to environmental destruction – the list is long and devastating.

Deforestation

The clearing of more and more forest for palm oil plantations has involved the destruction of dense tropical forests, rich in biodiversity and home to an array of plant and animal species, while releasing the carbon these forests held, into the atmosphere.

Even national parks have been severely impacted. Forty-three percent of Tesso Nilo National Park in Sumatra, which was established to provide habitat for the endangered Sumatran Tiger, has now been overrun with illegal palm oil plantings. (2)

It has also led to devasting consequences for the indigenous communities who live in the vicinity of these forests. Many of these communities rely on forest resources for basic survival such as food and medicine. The loss of trees and plants can also cause issues such as soil erosion and flooding.

According to rainforest-rescue.org oil palm plantations currently cover more than 27 million hectares of the Earth’s surface. Forests and human settlements have been destroyed and replaced by “green deserts” containing virtually no biodiversity. (3)

Fires set to clear forests and create land for more palm plantations are the top source of greenhouse gas emissions in Indonesia, a country of 261 million people. The financial incentive to produce more palm oil is helping to warm the planet, while destroying the only habitat of Sumatran tigers, Sumatran rhinos and orangutans – driving them towards extinction. (4)

The development of large-scale oil palm plantations has also led to social conflict between companies, governments and communities over land and its usage rights – as well as human rights abuses, including forced child labour. (5)

The palm oil dilemma and unintended consequences of boycotting palm oil

Although the current rate of palm oil production is highly unsustainable, the use of palm oil is likely here to stay. This is because all agriculture has an impact on the environment and oil palm trees are incredibly efficient, yielding more oil on the same amount of land than any other leading oil crop. For example, four to ten times more than soy, rapeseed (canola), or sunflower. (5)

The concern is that if people stop using palm oil, suppliers will turn to producing oils such as these, having unintended consequences for forests and communities as more land will be required to produce the same amount of a different oil.

Therefore, boycotting palm oil totally isn’t the answer.

If boycotting palm oil isn’t the solution, what is?

The only solution is to move towards sustainable use of palm oil. Palm oil can be consumed in a more responsible way but this matter needs the urgent support of companies, governments and consumers.

As consumers we can ensure that the items we do need to buy contain palm oil from sustainable sources.

How do I know if there is palm oil in a product that I’m buying?

Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to tell if a product contains palm oil as it can appear under many different names including:

INGREDIENTS: Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol (6)

So how can I help?

Look for products with the ‘Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’ (RSPO) label. The RSPO is a global, non-profit organisation, dedicated to bringing together stakeholders from across the palm oil supply chain to develop and implement standards for sustainable palm oil across the world.

In response to the pressing global call for sustainably produced palm oil, the RSPO was formed in 2004 by founding members the World Wildlife Fund, the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA), Unilever, AAK, and Migros.

The RSPO label is the stamp to say that the palm oil used in the item was produced in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

You could also download the ‘Impact Score’ app designed to provide ethical and sustainability information on more than 250,000 products. Products are rated in 13 areas including animal welfare, low carbon footprint and sustainable palm oil.

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