Palm Oil Pushback

If you’ve ever read the labels on food or skin-care products, there’s a good chance you’ve come across an ingredient called palm oil, or one of the many substances made from it. It’s found in about 50 percent of all packaged supermarket items, including candy bars, ice cream, peanut butter, shampoo, and lotion—just to name a few.

If you read the labels on food or skin-care products, you’ll probably come across an ingredient called palm oil. Or you might see one of the many substances made from it. Palm oil is found in about half of all packaged supermarket items. It’s in candy bars, ice cream, peanut butter, shampoo, and lotion. And those are just a few.

Oil palms are native to Africa. For thousands of years, people there have pressed the trees’ red fruits to squeeze out their oil. In the late 19th century, production of an inexpensive butter substitute called margarine took off in Europe and North America. Palm oil proved to be an excellent ingredient for this product because it stays semisolid at room temperature but melts in your mouth. As demand for palm oil grew, manufacturers transplanted African oil palms to Southeast Asia. They established large plantations, or cultivated areas, with oil palms as far as the eye could see.

Since then, manufacturers have continued to find new uses for palm oil. It’s now the top-selling vegetable oil in the world. But in the areas where it’s made, palm oil production has had complex and sometimes devastating effects. To make way for oil palm plantations, tens of millions of acres of tropical forest have been cut down or burned.

Much of this deforestation has taken place in the nations of Indonesia and Malaysia, which together produce more than 80 percent of the world’s palm oil. It has resulted in habitat loss for endangered species such as orangutans, pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinos, and Sumatran tigers. Clearing forests also contributes to climate change. That’s because trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and store it in their tissues. When forests are cut down, the trees and the tropical soils where they grow release this heat-trapping greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, causing Earth’s average global temperature to rise.

Oil palms are native to Africa. People there press the trees’ red fruits to squeeze out their oil. They’ve done this for thousands of years. In the late 19th century, an inexpensive butter substitute became popular in Europe and North America. It’s called margarine. Palm oil is an excellent ingredient for margarine. That’s because it stays semisolid at room temperature, but it melts in your mouth. So demand for palm oil grew. Manufacturers moved African oil palms to Southeast Asia. They established large plantations, or cultivated areas. Oil palms grew as far as the eye could see.

Manufacturers have continued to find new uses for palm oil. It’s now the top-selling vegetable oil in the world. But in areas where palm oil is produced, it has had complex effects. Sometimes those effects are devastating. To make room for oil palm plantations, tropical forests are cut down or burned. Tens of millions of acres have been destroyed.

Much of this deforestation has happened in Indonesia and Malaysia. These nations produce more than 80 percent of the world’s palm oil. As a result, endangered species have lost habitat. They include orangutans, pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinos, and Sumatran tigers. Clearing forests also contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps heat. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and store it in their tissues. When forests are cut down, the trees release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. So do the tropical soils where the trees grow. That causes Earth’s average global temperature to rise.

So should people stop buying palm oil and related products? With palm oil in so many items, that’s not easy to do. Also, on ingredient lists, palm oil isn’t always clearly labeled. It has many alternative names, like palm kernel, palmate, or simply vegetable oil.

Even if it were possible to avoid palm oil products, that may not be the best solution, says Erik Meijaard, a conservation scientist and head of the Oil Palm Task Force for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “All oil-producing crops have negative impacts on the environment,” he says—not just palm oil. And oil palm is one of the most efficient crops available: It produces 3 to 10 times as much oil per acre of land as similar crops. Switching to other vegetable oils might result in even more deforestation.

People can help in other ways, says Robins, the palm oil historian. “Raising awareness about problems linked to palm oil is one step,” he says. “So is contacting companies that use palm oil and pressuring them to adopt more sustainable practices.” That means farming oil palms in a way that’s less damaging to the environment. And as people learn more about the problems with palm oil, they’ve started pushing manufacturers to do just that.

So should people stop buying palm oil and related products? That’s not easy to do. Palm oil is in many different items. And it’s not always clearly labeled on ingredient lists. It has many other names, like palm kernel, palmate, or simply vegetable oil.

What if we could avoid palm oil products? That may not be the best solution, says conservation scientist Erik Meijaard. He’s head of the Oil Palm Task Force for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “All oil-producing crops have negative impacts on the environment,” he says. It’s not just palm oil. And oil palm is one of the most efficient crops. It produces 3 to 10 times as much oil per acre as similar crops. Switching to other vegetable oils might cause even more deforestation.

People can help in other ways, says Robins, the palm oil historian. “Raising awareness about problems linked to palm oil is one step,” he says. “So is contacting companies that use palm oil and pressuring them to adopt more sustainable practices.” That means farming oil palms in a way that’s better for the environment. People are learning more about the problems with palm oil. And they’ve started pushing manufacturers to make these changes.

There are now programs that certify sustainable sources of palm oil. For a plantation to earn this certification, it must grow oil palms in a way that conserves natural ecosystems. For example, instead of clearing forest to plant more oil palms, a certified grower might plant additional trees on land that has previously been used for other types of agriculture. Checking labels and choosing products that contain certified palm oil is one way to support these practices. And it may be helping: In recent years, deforestation related to palm oil has slowed (see Forest Loss).

Governments of nations that produce palm oil can help too. For example, they can provide financial support to improve farming practices. That includes efforts to increase crop yield through agricultural research. This could boost the amount of palm oil that growers can produce on a given amount of land. That would be a win-win: more palm oil for people around the world who need it, without destroying ecosystems that support endangered species and the planet.

Now programs exist to certify sustainable sources of palm oil. A plantation can earn this certification. It must grow oil palms in a way that conserves natural ecosystems. For example, certified growers don’t clear forest to plant more oil palms. Instead, they might find land that was already used for other types of agriculture. Then they plant more trees there. People can support these practices. One way is to check labels and choose products that contain certified palm oil. And it may be helping. Lately, deforestation related to palm oil has slowed (see Forest Loss).

In nations that produce palm oil, governments can help too. For example, they can provide funds to improve farming practices. That includes researching ways to increase crop yield. This could boost the amount of palm oil produced on a given amount of land. That would be a win-win. It would provide more palm oil for people around the world who need it. But it wouldn’t destroy ecosystems that support endangered species and the planet.