Although I know that avoiding processed food is best for my health, and sure, I strive to live off of as many whole foods as I can, as a student, this just isn’t always possible. So, in an attempt to be more environmentally conscious, I’ve tried my best to educate myself about the sustainability of processed ingredients that packaged foods are made from. While meat and dairy products are more commonly known to be environmental “red flags,” other food products such as palm oil also raise some concerns.
If you look on the back of product labels, you are almost guaranteed to stumble across some kind of oil-based ingredient. There are approximately 436 different names that palm oil and its derivatives can be labeled as on products, so as a consumer, it can be difficult to really know what you’re consuming.
Although palm oil can be found in about 50 per cent of the packaged foods we consume, it can also be found in animal feed, biofuels, cleaning supplies, and cosmetic products. It is the world’s most widely consumed vegetable oil and is arguably the most efficient crop to grow in comparison to other vegetable oils, like soybean oil. Some also consider palm oil to be a healthier alternative to other oils since it doesn’t contain trans fatty acids.
Although it is an incredibly versatile oil, if it is irresponsibly produced, then it largely contributes to the deforestation of many biodiverse rainforests. Due to the naturally humid climate, approximately 86 per cent of the world’s palm oil is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia. Here, palm oil plantations are farmed at a mass rate that is equivalent to 300 football fields’ worth of rainforests being cleared every single hour.
Such rainforests are home to a wide range of wildlife, including a collection of endangered species like orangutans, pygmy elephants, and Sumatran rhinos.
Not only is animal extinction a top concern of deforestation, but the mass rates of land that is cleared also have a significant influence on climate change. These plots of densely forested areas work like sponges, soaking up the carbon dioxide in the air and decreasing the number of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. With higher demands for palm oil, more land must be clear cut to farm palm oil trees, and thus poses a serious risk to our climate crisis. With the demand for palm oil theorized to quadruple over the next 30 years, I can’t imagine the amount of land that will be cleared to keep up with consumer needs.
When looking into the industry, it is noted that many of these palm oil plantations are grown on Indigenous lands without the consultation of local communities. And while the industry may bring some economic benefits to developing countries, such as providing employment to those who face poverty, there have been concerns about human trafficking and rights violations in the work conditions at plantations.
For many, these concerns of deforestation and human welfare are what primarily drive them to avoid consuming products with palm oil altogether. But there may be some more sustainable options for us, consumers, to consider instead of boycotting the industry altogether.
The key here, in my opinion, is to be aware of where a product sources its palm oil from and if such companies receive a sustainable certification. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s (RSPO) mission is to create “a set of environmental and social criteria which companies must comply with in order to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil.” This criteria outlines both environmental and social expectations that companies must abide by in order to be certified sustainable.
Beyond just getting the stamp of certified approval, though, I think that it is especially important to look at where companies source their product from. Palm oil was and continues to be a staple in African culture, as these trees are known to be native to West Africa. The production of the oil is a much more sustainable process here, as it is already built into the systemic structure of Africa, and therefore many of the social and environmental concerns that South Asian plantations bring about simply do not exist. In short, the reputation of unsustainability in the industry stems from these capitalist influences; not the palm oil itself.
So although the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) explains that responsible palm oil practices should consider all of the environmental and social impacts that the oil could bring about, it seems that these traditional West African communities have been farming it responsibly for centuries. My advice to you, then: boycott the capitalist-driven South Asian palm plantations, and support West African farmers like Royal Palm and True Palm Oil.
We have been spoon-fed these misconceptions about the palm oil industry instead of pointing the finger at the white men in charge. If you choose to include palm oil in your diet, power to ya. Just make sure you’re being conscious of where it is sourced.
Sydney is a BA English major, creative writing student, who has been a content contributor for The Cascade and is now the Opinion editor. In 7th grade, she won $100 in a writing contest but hasn’t made an earning from writing since. In the meantime, she is hoping that her half-written novels will write themselves, be published, and help pay the bills.
