Imagine an oil that can do everything. It makes lipsticks smoother, chips crispier, cookies healthier, and soaps bubblier. This is palm oil, the largest internationally traded vegetable oil. It is the miracle vegetable oil that doesn’t contain trans fats, and its chemical properties allow it to be used in cooking without spoiling, mixed with other oils, and refined to be put in packaged goods.

Despite the positives, the production of palm oil has led to its controversy. It is known as the oil that is causing ecological rainforests to be clear-cut and burned, placing species on the brink of extinction, while also committing human rights violations.

Who is involved in this controversy?

-Environmentalists and NGOs disseminate knowledge about the harmful effects of the palm oil industry to the public, and also rally against big corporations from the retail, manufacturing, and food services industries to source sustainable palm oil.

-Corporations like Unilever and PepsiCo that continue to purchase unsustainably sourced palm oil from companies like Cargill.

-Producers, like in Indonesia and Malaysia, are directly involved in the clearing and burning of forests for palm oil. Around 50% of cultivation takes place outside of the government approved land, allowing for uncontrolled destruction of rainforests. 

-The species that are victims to the destruction of their ecologically rich habitats, some like rhinos and tigers are facing extinction

-Indigenous and local communities that are dependent on the rainforests for food and water but are marginalized by the palm oil industry.

Why the controversy? 

 Growing demand has led to harvesting oil palm at unsustainable rates.

 Oil palm is a tropical tree plant species that requires high rainfall and substantial amounts of sunlight.The trees produce palm fruit bunches, each individual fruit containing 30-35% oil. Oil palms can be productive for up to 25 years before they grow too tall and produce less fruit. Malaysia and Indonesia account for 85% of global production.

 Since production is disproportionately located in tropical regions, so is environmental destruction. Palm oil contributes to 0.5% of deforestation globally, but, it accounts for almost 50% of forest loss  within the tropics. In Indonesia, palm oil plantations are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions due to the clearing and burning of forests. Indonesia is being deforested faster than any other country in the world.

Rapid deforestation is also driving species extinction rates. The Bornean Orangutan’s population has decreased by 80% over the last 75 years due to habitat destruction. They have become victims of the palm oil industry.

The palm oil industry has also been condemned for human rights abuses and poor labor conditions. An investigation conducted by Amnesty International found children as young as eight working on plantations and workers being paid as little as $2.50 a day.

 Are there alternative oils?

 There are several alternatives to palm oil. Soybean oil, rapeseed, and sunflower account for 59% of all the other types of  vegetable oils used.  Palm oil accounts for the remaining  41% of vegetable oil. 

But because palm oil is cheaper to produce in comparison to these other vegetable oils it is increasingly the vegetable oil of choice for most companies. It also has greater yields while using less land.  One hectare of land can produce nearly 4 times more than the other vegetable oils.

 

It can also be separated into different consistencies and put into different products. The sheer versatility of palm oil is another reason why it is ubiquitous within a range of different products. 

Can palm oil be sustainable?

Many companies (Ferrero and L’oreal, to name a couple) have pledged to switch to 100% sustainable palm oil.  What does this mean in practice?

 Sustainable palm oil prohibits further deforestation, requires transparency at each step of the supply chain, and mandates proper labor conditions.

 Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) started in 2004 to develop  global standards for palm oil production. This has led to the environmental and social standards that companies must comply with in order to receive certification. These standards include fair labor practices, protection of local and indigenous land rights, and the prohibition of clearing forest.

One of the biggest challenges companies face in sourcing sustainable palm oil is accessibility to RSPO certified oil. The lack of certified producers hinders many company’s efforts to transition to a sustainable supply chain. 

  How can I know if the palm oil I’m consuming was produced sustainably?

“Determining which products contain palm oil, let alone how sustainably it has been sourced, requires an almost supernatural level of consumer consciousness,” according to Paul Tullis from The Guardian, who has covered the world’s dependence on palm oil.

 Tullis explains that consumers in the United States and EU have limited capacity to make changes since Asian countries are the biggest consumers of palm oil.

 Although this can be true, as the issue has grown and drawn public attention, so have initiatives to bring transparency from the supply chain to the market.

 One initiative is the “Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard” compiled by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The scorecard analyzes 173 different companies, including  retailers, manufacturers, and  the food service industry. The criteria measures the amount of  sustainable palm oil bought from RSPO certified producers, traceability along the supply chain, and investments made in sustainable plantations. 

The scorecard reveals many failures. 

There is still a lack of supplier accountability. Suppliers are insufficient in providing traceability from the plantation to the mills, and less than 1/3 of companies have a policy that guarantees the prohibition of cutting down trees.

Another worry is that despite the 10 years the RSPO has helped source sustainable palm oil, less than half of companies surveyed by the WWF are purchasing 100% sustainable palm oil.

 Aside from the pessimistic findings, 14 companies have proved that it is possible to source 100% sustainable palm oil. Big brands like Ikea, Ferrero, and L’Oréal scored 19 out of 22 and have made sustainably sourced, conversion-free palm oil a priority.

 Is it too late to break the habit? Palm oil will remain a part of our future, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a sustainable one.