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palm oil is destroying rainforests
what is it?
Palm oil is a type of edible vegetable oil that is derived from the palm fruit, grown on the African oil palm tree. Oil palms are originally from Western Africa, but are now grown throughout Africa, Asia, North America, and South America, with 85% of all palm oil globally produced and exported from Indonesia and Malaysia; but most of the time not using sustainable measures...
what is palm oil doing to our earth?
Currently, a third of all mammal species in Indonesia are considered to be critically endangered as a consequence of palm oil production. Orangutans in particular have become a charismatic icon for deforestation in Borneo and Sumatra. Over 90% of Orangutan habitat has been destroyed in the last 20 years. An estimated 1,000-5,000 orangutans are killed each year for this development. Not only are we destroying their habitat, these animals are essential to rainforest growth as they spread seeds through defecation. Not to mention, Indonesia is the third highest greenhouse gas emitter in the world because we are burning down timber and emitting smoke into the atmosphere from these areas that were once thriving rainforests.
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. In addition, palm oil development increases accessibility of animals to poachers and wildlife smugglers who capture and sell wildlife as pets, use them for medicinal purposes or kill them for their body parts. The destruction of rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra is therefore not only a conservation emergency, but a major animal welfare crisis as well.
what foods contain palm oil?
prepare to be annoyed.. or at least i was.
here's a non-comprehensive list: nut butters, baby formula, margarine, fast food, cleaning products, cereals, instant noodles, potato chips, donuts, toothpaste, pet foods, vitamins, chocolate, dried fruits, bread, cookies, ice cream, frozen meals..
sometimes palm oil is labeled as...
some companies will mask palm oil in their product by listing it by another name. There are about 200 other classifications that companies can list inthe ingredients but i'll name the most common:
Elaeis guineensis oil (most commonly recognized in cosmetics)
Glycerin or Glycerol
Vegetable Oil
products that have a saturation fat that is 50% or more is most likely using palm oil**
what is sustainable palm oil?
Sustainable palm oil is an approach to oil palm agriculture that aims to produce palm oil without causing deforestation or harming people.There is much debate about this... but here are the facts:
The RSPO is a not-for-profit organization that aims to unite stakeholders from all sectors of the palm oil industry, including environmental and social NGOs. RSPO is currently the largest sustainability-focused organization within the palm oil sector, however its standards do not ban deforestation or destruction of peatlands for the development of oil palm plantations.
PALM OIL FREE PRODUCTS + COMPANIES
i want to encourage everyone to decrease their consumption of palm oil so here is a comprehensive list including non-vegan items and companies
Nut Butters: Sanitarium Peanut Butter, Artisana, Dastony, Once Again, Wilderness Family Naturals, Woodstock Farms, organic unsweetened Sunbutter (not the other varieties), a few of the products made by Maranatha (such as their peanut butter and raw organic and raw regular almond butter), and Whole Foods 365 brand of plain peanut and almond butter.
ghee is NOT palm oil free!
Sunstainable Fast Foods include Subway, Wendy's Red Robin + McDonalds
Frozen Meals: Lean Cuisine, Maggi, Birds Eye (Large Selection, Weightwatchers, McCain, Ingham (Large Selection), Light n Easy, On the Menu, Quorn
Dried Fruits / Snacks: Nature Valley Crunchy Granola, Certain Uncle Toby’s, Coles Mixed Fruit, Sunbeam Sultanas, Sunsweet Dried Mango, Fruit for Life, Up and Go
Cookies / Donuts: Walkers Shortbread, Sakata, Arnotts (Cruskits, Vitaweet), Butterfingers, Peckish, Ryvita, Sunrice, Tuckers, Mission, Booja (palm oil free company), Divine (palm oil free company),Seed & Bean (palm oil free company) Montezuma (palm oil free company), Cocoa Loco (palm oil free company), Ferrero Rocher, Raffaello, Kinder, Waitrose, M&S.
Bread: Vogels, Bürgen, Golden Crumpets, Country Life, Quality Bakers, Abbott’s Village Bakery
Chocolate: Milo, Bounty, Crunchy, Flake, Lindt (blocks only – Lindor balls contain Palm Oil), Toblerone, Whittakers, Loving Earth, Twirl, Cadbury (ONLY plain chocolate), Pana Chocolate, Guylain, Booja Booja, Ombar
Sustainable chocolate: Aero, Ferrero, Koko Black, Smarties, Snickers, Twix, Violet Crumble, Kit Kat, Mars Bars, Maltesers, M&M variety, Mars Bar, Celebrations, Lindt Lindor, Kinder, Thorntons
Ice Cream: Weis, Ben & Jerry’s, Golden North, Life Savers, Booja Booja
Noodles: Woka, Kan Tong, Changs, Coles Instant Noodles, Kabuto Noodles
Toothpaste: Sensodyne (gentle whitening, total care + whitening), Colgate is sustainably sourced
Pet Foods: Homebrand, Schmakos, Dine, Supreme, Lilly’s Kitchen, Urthly Organics, Chef, Optimum, Lily’s Kitchen
noteworthy.. just because something is 'vegan' or 'cruelty free' does not mean it is palm oil free. read the ingredients. A lot of vegan snacks on the market are not palm oil free or sustainable sourced palm oil either... Ingredients are your best friend, know what you are investing, what you are supporting, what you are paying for.
looking for more information?
this film documents the last days of a female orangutan affected by deforestation:
http://www.greenthefilm.com/
news regarding palm oil:
there are more items than just food that contain palm oil. i will do another post on the beauty products (makeup, skincare, shampoos/conditioners), laundry detergents and soaps that are palm oil free. in the meantime, check the link above.
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