THE EFFECTS OF PALM OIL
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The topic of palm oil has become increasingly heated and emotional – on one side there are some health benefits, but at what cost? Habitat loss due to rain forest conversion to agriculture, and ecosystem fragmentation from oil palm plantations could drive the orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra to extinction. But orangutans aren’t the only ones that suffer as habitat is converted to agriculture – tigers, sun bears, clouded leopards, bearded pigs and other endangered species, as well as indigenous people, are at risk as natural rain forest land disappears. The information on this page is intended to help inform and educate while raising awareness about the complex issues surrounding palm oil.
This is a complex issue. Educate yourself: Be smart, read labels, tell the companies that are using palm oil that you will not purchase their goods until they can prove that they are sourcing and using sustainable palm oil.
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Fruit from the oil palm. Photo by Ryan Hawk.
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How is palm oil used?
- Palm oil is frequently found in margarines and fats. It is also used in creating dry cake mix, biscuit mixes, cakes and sponge cakes, soaps, peanut butter, sauces, powdered milk and as a fat substitute used when making condensed milk and non-lacteous cream used in coffee and ice-cream.
- Palm oil is considered one of the best frying oils because it can resist high temperatures and does not produce unpleasant odors – making it the go-to oil for fried potatoes, French fries, pies, pastries and doughnuts.
- Palm kernel oil is used in the production of concentrated foods and as a supplement in animal food. Because it resembles coco oil, palm kernel oil is popular among chocolate lovers and can be used as a substitute for cacao and the fats found in milk.
- Palm kernel oil is used in creams made from sugar, condensed milk and doughnut fillings. It is frequently found in biscuits, croissants, breads and cakes because it gives them a softer texture and a sweeter taste.
- Palm and palm kernel oil are also found in many non-edible items such as soaps, detergents, candles, cosmetics, lubricating greases for machinery, grease used to protect tanks, pipelines, used during the production of PVC, glue, printing inks, and biodiesel.
How does palm oil impact the environment?
Palm oil trees originate in tropical regions – where rain forest land is converted to monoculture (the cultivation or growth of a single crop) plantations – essentially killing the biodiversity of the ecosystems that they replace. Due to rapidly rising demand for palm oil, Malaysia and Indonesia now account for 81% of world palm oil production in order to sustain that production, rain forest land is being decimated at an alarming rate. The amount of land used for palm oil production in Malaysia increased from 54,638 hectares (approximately 210 square miles) in 1960 to 3,376,664 hectares in 2000 (approximately 13,034 square miles), a 61-fold increase according to the World Wildlife Fund (2002). What’s at risk in this dramatic increase? The loss of critical flora and fauna habitat in a region that is home to some of the world’s most amazing biodiversity, and the potential extinction of several species of large animals, including the Sumatran and Bornean orang utans, the Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran rhinoceros, and the Asian elephant. How does this play out in statistics?
- Indonesia faces the highest rate of rain forest loss in the world.
- There are currently over 7 million acres (approximately 11,700 square miles) of deforested land available for palm oil plantations in Borneo and Sumatra, however many corporations decide to use unconverted rain forest in order to gain additional timber profits.
- The deforestation rate is about 4.9 million acres of rain forest each year – approximately 7,644 square miles – or an area just slightly larger than the size of New Jersey.
- Biodiversity at risk: Borneo is home to 13 primate species, approximately 400 bird species, 150 reptile and amphibian speceis, 3,000 species of trees, and 15,000 species of flowering plants. Sumatra is home to more than 500 bird species and more than 200 mammal species, including the critically endangered Sumatran tiger and rhino.
How you can help
Your power is in your awareness and in your pocketbook. The choices you make can slow the production of palm oil, although eliminating production is unlikely.
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Reduce your consumption patterns for palm oil – read labels and refuse to purchase items that include palm oil so that the demand is less than the supply.
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Make sure biofuels are not generated from monoculture plants such as palm oil – or at least make sure we are not subsidizing biofuel generated from palm oil.
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Write to the Malaysian and Indonesian Embassies and ask what their Governments are doing to stop the establishment of Palm Oil plantations in orang-utan habitat. Pressure them to enforce the law regarding the protection of the natural environment.
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Write to any food supplier that lists VEGETABLE OIL as an ingredient and ask them if they use palm oil. If so, find out what are they doing to ensure it doesn't affect orang-utan habitat.
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Support the World Wildlife Fund’s goal of 100 per cent sustainable palm oil by 2015. Currently just 1 per cent of the 1.3 million metric tons of sustainable palm oil produced since November 2008 have been sold – in part because it is more expensive.
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Offer your support to conservation organizations like WPZ's Partner for Wildlife at Hutan. They are trying an innovative and controversial plan to save orang-utans and elephants by joining forces with palm oil producers to purchase pieces of land in order to create wildlife corridors, thus creating a more comprehensive habitat.