About Palm Oil

One of the greatest threats to tigers and wildlife in general is habitat loss. Due to an ever-increasing human population this is a problem all around the world. Some areas are however impacted harder than others. Although these areas are in countries outside the UK, it is something in our day-to-day life here that causes the rapid loss of habitat for Sumatran tigers, orangutans, and other wildlife species that live on the Island of Sumatra and in the south of Malaysia. It is Palm Oil that has led to a rapid deforestation in these areas.

You may not even be aware that you use it, but palm oil is in about 50% of the products, we buy in supermarkets. Unfortunately, due to a lack of legal regulations in view of labeling products, it is not necessarily obvious that palm oil is an ingredient in them. Since December 2014 food product need to be clearly labelled in view of containing palm oil and whether it has been sustainably sourced (the lack of the word 'sustainable' means that the oil has been sourced without any consideration for wildlife or the environment). There are many different terms, which are used for palm oil and a list of 30 commonly used terms is available on the Say No To Palm Oil web page.

Because palm oil being a more saturated fat, it is a preferred option by manufacturers of many products. Palm oil is used in a wide range of food products like bread, biscuits, ice cream, bread spreads, chocolate, other confectionery, seasoning and even dried fruit. Unfortunately, it does not end here. Palm oil is also used to produce detergents, washing powder and liquid, fabric softeners, hand wash liquids, soap, other body products, toothpaste, cosmetics and much more. Furthermore, palm oil is nowadays used as bio-fuel and to generate electricity, including here in the UK.

The percentage of palm oil in the individual products may be very small, but it is the wide range of products, which contain palm oil, that is leading to a demand of more than 70 million tones per year.

Before 2014 palm oil was most commonly called vegetable oil on food products. Well, palm oil is a vegetable oil, but this is a generic term. Other vegetable oils are corn oil, canola oil, olive oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil, to name only a few. This means theoretically vegetable oil could be any one of these oil types. Although manaufacturers are nowadays obliged to label palm oil as such on food produces, I occasionally still see products using the generic term 'vegetable oil'; leaving it open to speculation what type of oil their products are based on.

Indigenous people in the areas, where oil palm fruit trees naturally grow, used palm oil probably for their food already a very long time ago (before history records started). The oil palm tree is however not indigenous to South-East Asia. This plant originates from West Africa, where it occurs on relatively open ground; often spread along riverbanks.

The earliest records about the use of palm oil in other parts of Africa than the area of its origin goes back to ancient Egypt, where archaeological findings included traces of palm oil. Based on the findings, it is assumed that it was used in food supplies for caravans and ship journeys during the time of the Atlantic slave trade. With the industrialization towards the end of the 19th century, palm oil was eventually also utilized for making candles and as lubricant for machinery. In order to provide for the growing demand in palm oil, European-run plantations were established in Central Africa and South-East Asia after 1900.

By 1930 the world trade in palm oil had reached 250,000 tones per year, which grew steadily to 500,000 tones in 1962, before starting to accelerated up to 2.4 million tones p.a. in 1982 and to more than 70 million tones nowadays (2020). The annual growth of the palm oil production (~ 7.8%) requires an expansion of oil palm tree plantations by approximately 420,000 ha per year. This is based on the current increase in production, but considering the increasing use of palm oil as bio-fuel and also to generate electricity, the annual growth is expected to increase further, unless drastic changes can be achieved.

The largest share of palm oil production lies in South-East Asia, where Indonesia and Malaysia hold about 85% of the world market. Indonesia is the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter. For this country, palm oil is one of the largest industries. The export of crude palm oil and also of refined palm oil products is bringing a huge amount of foreign exchange income, which is important for Indonesia’s overall economy and also for employment of its population.

Although, from an economical perspective the increase in palm oil production is desirable for the countries, which produce and export this, it needs to be clear that we will run out of space at some point. And long before humans will run out of space, it is the flora and fauna of planet Earth that suffers in the name of economic growth.

Indonesia has one of the greatest biodiversities in the world, but many species there are endangered or even critically endangered. There are at least 3 critically endangered species on the Island of Sumatra, the orangutan as well as the Sumatran rhinoceros and tigers.

Sumatran tiger, Jae Jae - London Zoo

The population of Sumatran tigers is currently estimated to be up to a maximum of 400 individuals. Considering the low numbers of wild Sumatran tigers and the threats, including the shrinking habitat, this species has been classified as critically endangered by IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).

A shrinking habitat means not only that the wildlife runs out of space to live on, but they are facing also a lack of food and this in turn leads to an increased human/wildlife conflict when animals will try to find food on farms or even in urban areas.

Tiga - Colchester Zoo

Besides the issues for wildlife, there are other environmental consequences when rainforest areas are cleared. An intact natural system is regulating itself and also our climate. This does not only include the temperatures, but also rainfall for example. Forests provide cover for the areas below the tree canopies, and this keeps the ground moist and keeps also the heat in overnight. Furthermore, trees support the general water cycle by absorbing water and releasing it as vapor back into the atmosphere later. There are ongoing studies, which research the impact of deforestation on rainfall in the areas and their surroundings. However, there are already initiatives, which try to reduce the impact by the growing palm oil production.

As palm oil is the most productive vegetable crop on the planet (yielding more oil per square mile than any other oil plants), many manufacturers and also environmental groups are looking for an approach to ensure palm oil is grown and sourced in a sustainable way (without impacting the wildlife and the environment). Part of this initiative is to re-use agricultural fields rather than claiming more natural habitat. Furthermore, wildlife conservation groups have achieved at least with some oil palm plantation owners that plantations will leave a wildlife corridor for species to be able to commute from one natural habitat area to another without the need to cross plantations.

The industry is working on improving how palm oil is sourced and that it is easier for the consumer of food and chemical products to see what the products contain. As mentoned earlier, his is already easier with food products as manufacturers have to clearly state whether they contain palm oil and whether it is sustainable. With chemical products it is more difficult, but it appears that the terms 'Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulphate' (SLS) are most often used. However, there are countless different names for palm oil and its derivatives, including E472. On chemical products, it currently does also not state whether the palm oil in products has been sourced sustainably.

This hopefully will become more transparent in the future. The 'Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil' (RSPO) developed a concept, which verifies independently that certified palm oil products meet a set of criteria throughout the entire production chain; from growing oil palm trees through the refinery and production as well as the entire delivery chain to the end consumer. This is aimed to prove that the palm oil has been sustainably and ethically sourced and processed. Certified sustainable palm oil should be identifiable through the RSPO logo being displayed on products.

We, the consumer, can influence what manufacturers are providing by buying on a more informed basis products that are in line with the natural world. Palm oil has a huge impact on wildlife and our environment, and by buying products with sustainable palm oil we can help to make a difference.

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Note: This article is based on information found on the Internet. Web pages, which have been sourced include:
Say No To Palm Oil
RSPO
Sustainable Palm Oil Platform
IUCN
The Cambridge World History of Food
Ethical Consumer