About Palm Oil

Palm Oil is a controversial and emotive subject, with a complex array of social, environmental and financial elements which make it something which cannot fairly be summarised in such a small space. For the purpose of this article we will stick to the basic facts, in an effort to increase awareness of why palm oil is causing such a problem.

 

What is Palm Oil?

Palm Oil is an edible plant oil which is derived from the fruit and kernels of the Oil Palm. The Oil Palm is native to west Africa and tropical south and central America. Oil Palm plantations have since, however, become prolific in the areas of Indonesia & Malaysia which are now responsible for the majority of the world's palm oil production.

 

What is Palm Oil Used For? 

The quicker question would probably be, what is palm oil NOT used for? It can be found in a wide range of cosmetics, soaps, shampoos & detergents, breakfast cereals, chocolate, biscuits, snack foods, frozen meals, desserts, and possibly most significantly bio-fuels, just to name a few.

 

Unfortunately awareness of Palm Oil and the impact that it is having on our global environment is still not wide enough to make a difference, we believe that most people who are faced with the facts about palm oil will make informed decisions and choose not to purchase items which contain palm oil. Unfortunately, in Australia, as with many other countries labeling Palm Oil is not compulsory, so it makes it very difficult for a consumer to make an informed choice of what they purchase.

 

The only vegetable oils that need to be labelled in Australia are peanut oil, sesame oil and soy bean oil - this is primarily because some people have an allergy to these products. All other vegetable oils can simply be labelled as "vegetable oil". The label must indicate the level of saturated fat in the product, however. So if a label lists "vegetable oil" as an ingredient and then goes on to state a content of saturated fat, then you can reasonably count on it being either a palm oil derivative or coconut oil. Given the availability of palm oil and the fact that it is a cheaper alternative, you can be reasonably assured that the product does contain some sort of palm oil

 

Palm Oil used in cosmetics is a little easier to manage. Cosmetic use of palm oil must be labelled without exception, so you need to look for either "palm oil" or "Elaeis guineensis".

 

What is Wrong with Palm Oil?

Frankly, there's little "wrong" with palm oil as a product, its the way that it is produced that causes the problem. Indonesia has been in the Guinness World Book of Records for the last 2 years with the dubious honour of the country with the highest rate of deforestation. According to the 2009 Guinness World Records, Indonesia’s deforestation rate was 1.8 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2005. There is some argument about what the actual rate of deforestation is in Indonesia at the moment but the estimation is around 1.08 million hectares per year. Having said that, Indonesia also plans to increase its Oil Palm plantation areas over the coming years. Oil Palm shares the blame for this problem with Indonesia's booming pulp & paper industry.

 

The most seriously affected areas in Indonesia, however, are also the only remaining areas for the critically endangered Sumatran Orangutan and the endangered Borneo Orangutan. This is not a treat that is somewhere in the distant future, this is a real and impending, non-reversible extinction of one of our closest living relatives.

 

Unfortunately, it's not just the orangutan that are at risk:

• Borneo's Pygmy Elephant of which less than 1,000 animals are believed to exist.
• Sumatran Elephants which are reportedly being poisoned by cyanide laced pineapples to stop them trampling plantations. Less than 3,000 Sumatran Elephants are believed to exist.
• Sumatran Tigers are critically endangered for a number of reasons, but with deforestation of their natural habit less than 400 animals remain in the wild today.

These are just a few of the thousands of species that rely on the preservation of our forests for survival in and around Indonesia, if Oil Palm plantations continue to increase at the rate that they are currently predicted these species will be extinct within our life time. Wiping out species to wash our hair or fuel our car is not acceptable. This can only be stopped by people power.