PALMOIL, keep it sustainable

The problems of palm oil

Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the orange-red palm fruit. This happens especially in Malaysia and Indonesia. Because palm oil is relatively cheap, it is used in an endless amount of food, care products and biodiesel. The Netherlands is the largest European customer, among others Ahold, Unilever and FrieslandCampina.

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The use of palm oil in itself is not the problem. The yield per hectare of land is much higher than for other vegetable oils and with the use of palm oil the harmful trans fats have now almost completely disappeared from our food.

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The way in which palm oil is extracted, however, leads to major problems for both the living and working conditions of the local and regional population, and for the biodiversity of the areas where the production takes place. With the rapidly growing demand for palm oil, these problems become extra urgent.

Destruction of rain forests

Perhaps the best-known problem that the production of palm oil entails is that huge areas of rainforest are disappearing to make way for the oil palms. More than half of all rain forests in Indonesia have disappeared in recent years and permission has already been granted for an additional 20%.

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Particularly in Indonesia, huge pieces of forest are burned, releasing a lot of CO2 and particulate matter. As a result of the disappearance of the rainforest, erosion increases and the precipitation patterns change. The remaining forest is fragmented and there is illegal logging.

Disadvantages for the local and regional population

People who formerly lived off the forest, lose their source of food, fuel and income with the arrival of palm oil plantations. While the big companies use the land to make a lot of money, the original inhabitants are suffering poverty.

Often they have no choice but to work on such a plantation. The remains of pressed palm fruits are often dumped in nearby rivers. Here they rot, causing them an oxygen deficit and thus cause fish mortality. This limits the food supply and income of the population even further. Methane that is released from the waste water also has an adverse effect on the climate.

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Sustainable palm oil does not exist

The Roundtable or Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been a global standard for sustainable palm oil since 2004. In 2015, 84% of the palm oil processed in Dutch products would be sustainable.
The oil comes almost entirely from Indonesia and Malaysia, but due to the trade in different types of certificates, the exact origin of palm oil can usually no longer be traced.
Well-certified oil often does not find its way to the market, as a result of which the certification is financially discouraged. Due to interference from the palm oil industry, the criteria of the RSPO have remained very minimal. Due to the self-regulating structure, violations are almost always condoned. Rarely, a violation leads to a suspension, so that 'sustainable' palm oil is not guaranteed free of illegal forest fires and child labor.

Your own health

Palm oil contains more saturated fatty acids than most other vegetable oils, namely 48% compared to 14% in olive oil. Only coconut oil contains 85% more saturated fatty acids. The consumption of palm oil is therefore not recommended by the Nutrition Center.

Although I think that small amounts of palm oil do not necessarily have to be detrimental to our health, about 42% of our oil consumption seems to consist of palm oil. In order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, it will therefore be wise to replace a considerable part with oils containing less saturated fatty acids.

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How can we avoid the use?

As long as the RSPO, together with governments and large palm oil customers, fails to bring reliable sustainable palm oil to the market, there is no other option for consumers than to choose whether or not to buy palm oil. In the (massive) avoidance of palm oil the manufacturers of foodstuffs and care products and through them also the palm oil producers themselves hopefully feel a greater need for drastic measures.
But if palm oil is used in so many products, what do you have to pay attention to?

Know which products are palm oil-free

Fortunately, palmolie.info has also drawn up a list of products that are palm oil-free. In every category you can find alternatives, but it helps if you do not have to look for them all yourself. Do you doubt about a certain product?

Search the internet for the product name in combination with palm oil and you usually have quick clarity.

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I became my inspiration for this post when I read about rainforests and food.

Sources:

palmolie.info
ahealthylife.nl
isditwelgezond.nl
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