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Palm oil is used in a huge proportion of products, including margarines, cereals and breads, cosmetics,
shampoos, and detergents. Some studies estimate that about half of all packaged items found in
supermarkets contain it!
Palm oil is now the most widely used vegetable
oil on the planet- accounting for 65% of all
vegetable oil traded internationally.
By 2020, the use of palm oil is expected to
double, due to the increase in world population
and consumption of manufactured goods.
This product has been met with much
controversy, due to poor practices and
management.
Clearing land for oil plantations has led to
widespread deforestation in Indonesia and
Malaysia as well as other regions- out of the 11
million hectares of palm oil plantations, 6 million
of these is in Indonesia!
This has pushed many species into the brink of extinction such
as rhinos, elephants and orangutans.
Many campaigns have been launched to say no to palm oil.
Although the plans mean well, since un-sustainably grown
plantations have a massive destructive impact on the
environment, products that claim not to be palm oil free use
other sources like coconut oil or petroleum which are even
worse than palm oil itself!