Palm Oil has become a dirty word recently, especially within environmental and animal rights circles. I became aware of this issue after seeing gruesome images of bloody orangutans that had the audacity to live in a forest that was being plowed down for a palm plantation.
What Is Palm Oil?
Palm oil is the world’s most popular vegetable oil and is derived from the palm fruit, grown on the African oil palm tree. Oil palms are originally from Western Africa but can thrive anywhere that has plentiful rainfall and heat. In tropical environments, it grows easily and is more efficient than soy, canola, and other plants. Today 85% of all palm oil is produced and exported from Indonesia and Malaysia. Palm oil is used in about half of the products on supermarket shelves and is in everything from margarine to lipstick. Its production has devastated forests, communities, and the climate.
Why Should You Care?
In Indonesia, up to a third of all mammal species are considered to be critically endangered as a consequence of this industry and it.s effect on their habitat. According to the World Wildlife Fund, an area the equivalent size of 300 football fields of rainforest is cleared each hour to make way for palm oil production. The easiest way for companies to clear forests in order to grow palm oil is to burn them, creating smoke and haze that threatens the health of animals and people across the region.
Impact on the Environment
The orangutan has become the charming lovable icon for deforestation in Borneo and Sumatra. Over 90% of orangutan habitat has been destroyed in the last 20 years! The UN considers this a conservation emergency and an estimated 1000-5000 orangutans are killed each year. The orangutan is a keystone species and plays a vital role in maintaining the health of the ecosystem. Many rainforest seeds only germinate once passed through the gut of an orangutan, hence this primate’s essential role for the forest’s health. The story is similar for thousands of other species in South East Asia. Deforestation for palm oil production also contributes significantly to climate change. Burning of timber and remaining forest undergrowth to clear the land emits massive amounts of smoke into the atmosphere. Indonesia is now the third highest greenhouse gas emitter in the world.
There are over 300,000 different animals found throughout the jungles of Borneo and Sumatra, many of which are injured, killed and displaced during deforestation. Orangutans have been found buried alive, killed from machete attacks, guns and other weapons. Roads that are constructed for the palm oil plantation workers and equipment increase accessibility of these areas to poachers and wildlife smugglers who capture and sell wildlife as pets, use them for medicinal purposes or kill them for their body parts. Poachers simply drive to an area and wait for their target instead of trekking through a dense forest.
Mother orangutans are also often killed by poachers and have their babies taken to be sold or kept as pets, or used for entertainment in wildlife tourism parks in countries such as Thailand and Bali.
Government data has shown that over 50,000 orangutans have already died as a result of deforestation due to palm oil in the last two decades. If nothing changes species like the orangutan could become extinct in the wild within the next 5-10 years, and Sumatran tigers less than 3 years.
More Reading: How to See Wild Orangutans
Impact on Local Communities
The palm oil industry claims to bring development to poor regions such as Borneo and Sumatra. Many people in Southeast Asia are employed by the palm oil industry but these same communities also suffer. Often, the government will allow corporations to take land owned by indigenous peoples for their own financial benefit. Furthermore, the palm oil industry has been linked to major human rights violations, including child labour. Children will carry heavy loads, weed fields and may suffer from heat exhaustion and climbing injuries. They rarely are paid for their work. Communities are finding themselves with no choice but to become plantation workers because of the systematic destruction of the land they used to rely on. Many barely earn enough to survive and cope with terrible working conditions.
Sustainable Palm Oil
Sustainable Palm Oil is grown in ways to limit greenhouse gas emissions, preserve forests and fresh water, and protect wildlife. RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certification is an assurance to the customer that the palm oil production is sustainable. All organizations in the supply chain that use RSPO certified sustainable oil products are audited to prevent overselling and mixing palm oil with conventional (non-sustainable) products. Currently, RSPO-certified growers account for 18% of global palm oil production.
Read More about sustainable palm oil: How RSPO Works
How You Can Help
Don’t boycott all palm oil. Boycott unsustainable palm oil. Palm oil is an incredibly high-yielding vegetable oil, which means that anything replacing it will have to use more land. That does not solve the issue of deforestation. Better to get palm oil production ‘right’. Look for the RSPO label to ensure you purchase products made with sustainable palm oil. This label assures that the palm oil was produced in an environmentally responsible way. Alternatively, look for the Green Palm label! This label indicates products in support of the transition to certified palm oil. Proceeds from Green Palm certificates help growers fund the transition to sustainable palm oil.
Here’s a list of companies committed to sustainable palm oil. Most packaged products are labeled with companies’ contact information. Call or write regarding your favorite products and urge them to use certified sustainable palm oil. This website has more information as well as an interactive company directory with tools you can use to urge these companies to support the production of sustainable palm oil. Palm Oil Score Card