What is palm oil?

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First of all… what is palm oil?

Palm oil is a common ingredient in products we use on a daily basis, things like make-up and soap as well as in some foods like chocolate and pizza. It is extracted from the fruit that grows on oil palms, originally in Africa, and now mostly grown in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Now the question is, is palm oil good or bad for the planet?

On one hand, palm oil is said to be a super-efficient oil crop as it takes less land to produce the same amount of oil as other oils like coconut or soybean.

It’s also incredibly versatile. It can withstand high temperatures so great for frying food and is semi solid at room temperature so ideal for spreads like margarine. It has a longer shelf life than many other oils. And not to mention, the palm oil industry provides jobs and income for thousands of farmers. So there’s a huge reliance on palm oil for lots of people’s livelihood.

On the flip side, the production of palm oil has its downsides.

Palm oil is so widely used that it's in increasing demand across the world. This means increased production which unfortunately has led to deforestation. The rainforest is rich in different varieties of plants and animals and is being destroyed in order to clear land to grow more oil palm.

In a ripple effect, this destroys the homes of animals like orangutans which live in the rainforests. Without their natural habitat they are at serious risk of extinction.

Sustainable palm oil is an option. This means not clearing native tropical forests for oil palm and protecting plants and animals, by creating wildlife corridors to link forests. Despite efforts to make these practices widely used many parts of the supply chain are reluctant.

Improvements can be made to how palm oil is harvested and produced, minimising the impact on nature while supporting the livelihoods of local communities. We can all help by checking what things are made of and trying to make the most sustainable choice – like eating local non-processed foods and by talking to each other, asking questions, and making changes when we can.