The hidden palm oil in our food: are we wrecking the rainforest?
Are you palm oil free? Or are you buying the 50 per cent of supermarket products that contain the environmentally unsustainable ingredient? Just a few products that contain it include frozen pizzas, margarine and even biscuits. The reason it is used in so many foods is because it can be processed into a huge range of products that can have different melting points, characteristics and consistencies. However, it’s not only your food that contains palm oil: your soap, conditioner, shampoo and creams can all contain it too. This has a huge negative impact on the environment, as every day our fantastic, diverse forests are being chopped down to make room for the farming of palm oil. In Indonesia alone, an area the size of a football pitch is lost every twenty-five seconds. When huge areas like these are destroyed, local people lose their homes, and precious species such as orangutans are further endangered (we lose an average of 25 a day).
One method being used to reduce the negative impact of palm oil is ‘green deserts’. This is when trees that have been cut down in the rainforest are replaced by new trees - however, unlike the environment that has been destroyed, there is little diversity in this new habitat. The animals who originally inhabited the area cannot continue to do so, and are forced out. Green deserts, though beneficial in principle, have a limited usefulness in this respect.
There are benefits to palm oil - for example, it can be used as a biofuel. Biofuels area renewable source of energy; the plants used can be planted indefinitely. Half of the palm oil imported into the EU will be used as biofuel. Not all of the companies making use of this fuel are responsibly resourcing the oil, though. Furthermore, palm oil isn’t the only source of biofuels; other plants such as corn and sugarcane can be used. Ethanol as a biofuel is the leading fuel in Brazil, and is starting to become popular all over the world. Therefore, there are ways to responsibly resource palm oil and also cut back on it a little more.
Being palm oil free can be very difficult, but here are some tips if you want to cut back on your consumption and help reduce the amount of deforestation:
Aoife Godsave, Year 10
One method being used to reduce the negative impact of palm oil is ‘green deserts’. This is when trees that have been cut down in the rainforest are replaced by new trees - however, unlike the environment that has been destroyed, there is little diversity in this new habitat. The animals who originally inhabited the area cannot continue to do so, and are forced out. Green deserts, though beneficial in principle, have a limited usefulness in this respect.
There are benefits to palm oil - for example, it can be used as a biofuel. Biofuels area renewable source of energy; the plants used can be planted indefinitely. Half of the palm oil imported into the EU will be used as biofuel. Not all of the companies making use of this fuel are responsibly resourcing the oil, though. Furthermore, palm oil isn’t the only source of biofuels; other plants such as corn and sugarcane can be used. Ethanol as a biofuel is the leading fuel in Brazil, and is starting to become popular all over the world. Therefore, there are ways to responsibly resource palm oil and also cut back on it a little more.
Being palm oil free can be very difficult, but here are some tips if you want to cut back on your consumption and help reduce the amount of deforestation:
- Sign the Greenpeace petition against dirty palm oil being used all over the world. Greenpeace a worldwide charity. They created this video: https://youtu.be/TQQXstNh45g, and started a campaign against dirty palm oil that is not resourced responsibly. You can sign the petition here https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/content/rang-tan-info?source=GA&subsource=FOIDPOINGA01LB&utm_source=gpeace&utm_medium=GA&utm_campaign=FOIDPOINGA01LB
- Look for the RSPO logo and the green palm label to know if the palm oil being used in your product has been reliably sourced.
- If you’re a big lover of biscuits (like I am), then buying them from Waitrose or M&S may be the best way forward, as these two supermarkets have been said to be the best at limiting the amount of palm oil in their biscuits.
- Palm oil is also used in lipstick! It is difficult to find any makeup brands that are palm oil free, but there are always vegan-friendly lipsticks that often contain coconut oil instead.
Aoife Godsave, Year 10