When we reach for the supermarket shelf and fill up our tanks, we also decide the fate of endangered species such as orangutans or tigers - and the rainforest. Palm oil, the most popular vegetable oil but also the most controversial one. Deforestation of rainforest, destroying orangutans' natural habitat and leaving them stranded or worse dead, stealing of indigenous land and human rights abuses, leaves us with a polarized debate. Cultivation now covers an area of about 19 million hectares worldwide, around the equator in species-rich regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Numerous hectares of rainforest continue to be cleared for new plantations. As global demand increases, so do environmental and social problems.
But first, what is palm oil?
Palm oil or palm fat is extracted from the reddish pulp of the fruits of the oil palm. In the case of palm kernel oil, the fat content comes from the kernels of the palm fruits. This is a by-product of the extraction of palm oil. Pressing the fruit first produces crude palm oil, which is then prepared or processed in refineries for further use.
In malaysia palm oil is used to fry street food, but this vegetable oil isn't just use fry snacks its used in half of all packed products in you local supermarket, just under 40% of world palm oil is produced in malaysia but demand for the product is pushing companies to expand to other places like africa or south america.
But why is palm oil so popular?
Palm oil is an extremely versatile fat: it has a spreadable, creamy consistency at room temperature, is heat-stable, has a long shelf life and is tasteless. The countless products that contain palm oil include, for example, chocolate, chocolates, biscuits and other confectionery, snacks, chocolate creams, spreads, butter and margarine, baby food but also microwave meals or packet soups.
There is no denying the high demand for this product, and that it is not going to go away.
But WWF is not calling for a boycott, they want to see a balance. Palm oil makes up 35% of the edible oil market, but only takes up 6% of the land use for oil plantations. And if we were to switch, for example, to sunflower oil it would take at least five and a half times more land to produce the same amount of oil.
So what can we do?
Protect: Protection of forests and species
Produce: more sustainable palm oil production
Restore: Restoration of degraded areas as ecological corridors
These three pillars are also embedded in the official political goal of the government of Sabah to have 100 percent of its palm oil production RSPO-certified by 2025 and to preserve 30 percent of Sabah's area as protected forest.
And the next time you go grocery shopping, take an extra look if the product you are about to buy contains palm oil and if so look for an alternative product. Because until these three pillars are implemented, we should all be more conscious of our consumption of palm oil so we can protect and save our wildlife.