The Slippery Slope of Palm Oil

A Brief Background

Palm oil comes from the fruit of oil palm trees. The trees are native to Africa, but have been brought to South-East Asia. Malaysia and Indonesia are the leading producers of palm oil accounting for 86% of global production. Palm oil is in almost 50% of all packaged products in the grocery store. It is in everything from chocolate and peanut butter, to shampoo and lipstick.

The Good

Palm oil has many different properties which allow it to be widely used. It has a semi-solid texture at room temperature, which is great for spreadable items like margarine. It resists oxidization which makes products last longer. It remains stable at higher temperatures for cooking. Palm oil is used in place of animal fats because of its lower cost and health concerns. When consumed in small amounts, palm oil is a relatively healthy oil that does not pose additional risks of coronary artery disease.

Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world. This versatile oil is also an efficient crop that produces up to 10 times more oil per area than other oilseed crops. It produces fruit almost all year round providing a steady income for growers and small crop holders. So what is the problem?

The Bad

Palm oil is almost a 50% split of half good unsaturated fat and half bad saturated fat. Since palm oil is in so many products, it’s tough for researchers to determine the health concerns. Recommendations are to cook with healthier oils like avocado and olive. Look at labels on items that should only contain one ingredient like peanut butter and skip the ones with added sugar and palm oil.

Oxidized palm oil induces reproductive toxicity and organ toxicity in the kidneys, lungs, liver and heart. A tablespoon of palm oil contains 7 grams of saturated fat, while a tablespoon of olive oil contains only 2 grams of saturated fat. Other tropical oils, such as coconut oil, contain up to 12 grams of saturated fat. Access and affordability means that palm oil is a better alternative to tropical oils, but olive and avocado oils are healthier alternatives.

The Ugly

The big concerns are the amount of deforestation that is happening with trees in tropical climates. Biodiverse rainforests are being decimated in order to plant uniform oil palm monocultures. Peatlands are drained to prepare for palm oil plantations, but peatlands store vast amounts of carbon that is being released into the atmosphere. The cleared rainforest is then burned, releasing even more CO2 emissions. Tropical deforestation is currently responsible for about 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Vast amounts of carbon is being released into the atmosphere as millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases contribute to climate change.

Deforestation is not only bad for the planet, it’s also eradicating endangered species such as orangutans, Pygmy elephants, Sumatran tigers and Bornean rhinos.

As a result of all the deforestation, Small crop holders and indigenous people are being brutally driven from their land. Human rights violations are happening everyday on sustainable and organic plantations. There are serious issues concerning exploitation of workers and child labour in the palm oil industry.

Currently, 300 soccer fields of rainforest are being destroyed every hour.

What can we do?

Inform others about the issues.
Advocate for mandatory labeling of sustainable palm oil with your local suppliers and political representatives.
Let manufacturers know that you will not buy their products specifically because of palm oil concerns.
Demand transparency for the sources of palm oil in all consumer products.