Palm Oil - Strengths And Weaknesses

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Palm oil is used for washing, purifying, and eating it. In fact, it's about half of everyday goods. And what is the path of palm oil from the Indonesian rainforest to our home?

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Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil with a high saturated fat content, which is not well known to many because it has been mentioned for many years on many products as simple as vegetable oil. The oil is derived from African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), which grow in areas of tropical rainforest, but due to the high demand for their oil these plants planted on huge plantations, which brings both good and bad things. Probably more bad ones.

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Why Is Palm Oil Extracted From Oil Palm So Popular?

The reason lies in high yields, as this palm give the highest amount of oil on the surface of the earth compared to other types of vegetable oil. For every palm tree, for 30 years, seeds are grown, from which they produce oil by pressing seeds. According to Palm Oil Investigations, palm oil and its derivatives are used in half of everyday products such as prepared food, biscuits, butter, pizza, cosmetics, soaps and cleaning products... In addition, palm oil is used in the production of biofuels and is therefore referred to as the green version of fuel for shipping and aviation.

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Also As A Component Of British Pounds £

In April of this year, the British central bank announced that it intends to use palm oil for new use in the production of new 20 pounds banknotes and to replace it with animal fat. The British public was very upset about this news

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Why Does Palm Oil Have Such A Bad Reputation?

First, there are environmental concerns, as many experts warn that the spread of oil palm plantations is detrimental to our planet. This has provoked bitterness among several Britons. Why does palm oil have such a bad reputation? First there are environmental concerns, as many experts warn that the spread of oil palm plantations is detrimental to our planet. In particular, in Indonesia, rain forests are cut out to plant oil palm trees.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the global forest accounted for eight percent in the period between 1990 and 2008 at the expense of oil palm plantations. In doing so, the Asians encourage one and only thing - a profit.

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In Indonesia, tropical rain forests are shrinking faster than elsewhere in the world, and the reason is only one - the demand for palm oil. Rainforests and other ecosystems, which are very important for nature conservation, are destroyed faster by burning them, with large quantities of greenhouse gases and methane being released into the air, even though they often involve swampy soil. Such intentional fires in Indonesia in 2013 caused one of the worst pollution on Earth, as smokes from Indonesia drove into hundreds of kilometers distant cities like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Destruction of rainforests and replacing them with palm vegetation plantations makes it impossible to convert carbon dioxide back to oxygen, and according to WWF, deforestation contributes a 20% share to the global rise in temperatures. From 2000 to 2012, Indonesia has already cut 6 million hectares ( 60000 km², 23166 mi² ) of forests, half of England's surface.

Burning In Palm Oil Plantations, Causes Haze In Cities Like Singapore And Malaysia

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Orangutans Do Not Have Anywhere To Go

The destruction of the rainforest and its replacement with palm trees pose great difficulties for the animals - orangutans, elephants and tigers. Due to deforestation in Indonesia, at least 50 orangutans die each week. When tropical vegetation is burned or destroyed by heavy machinery, orangutans are left without home and food. POI ( Palm Oil Investigations ) also claims that companies that handle palm plantations are hired by people looking for adult orangutans and killing them, while puppies are then sold on the black market. As orangutans remain without basic living space, they often find themselves in the search for food among the palm plantations, where they are caught, tortured, killed or burnt. About 6,700 orangutans live in Sumatra, but they can soon find themselves on the verge of extinction due to human bad activity.

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Is There Another Option?

Data show that demand for this product will continue to increase in the coming years, with China, Indonesia and India facing the greatest need. In the figures - from 59 million tons of palm oil produced each year, 42% is spent by the three countries. The European Union is in fourth place with 6.2 million tons of consumption annually. For this reason, a Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) group was formed in 2003, which aims to increase the production of sustainable palm oil, in which production is carried out in a way that does not pollute and does not harm the planet. And in 2013, palm oil, produced in a sustainable way, consisted of only 13 percent of all sales. Also, in 2014, the European Union took action: it stipulated that it should be clearly stated on each product that it contains palm oil.

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How U Can Help?

In the store, buy only product that contains this logo!

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