DEFORESTATION FOR EVERYDAY PRODUCTS

Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees. Native from
Africa, the oil palm tree was brought into the rest of the world over 100 years ago as an
ornamental tree crop. Now, palm oil is literally everywhere. It is in our foods, cosmetics,
cleaning products and fuels. It’s in close to 50% of the packaged products we find in
supermarkets. Being a source of huge profits for multinational corporations, while at the same
time destroying the livelihoods of bunches of people. Displacement of the less fortunate,
deforestation and loss of biodiversity are all consequences of our palm oil consumption.

At 66 million tons annually, palm oil is the most commonly produced vegetable oil. Its low
world market price and properties that lend themselves to processed foods is the reason why
the food industry use it in half of all supermarket products. Palm oil can be found in frozen
pizzas, biscuits and margarine, as well as body creams, soaps, makeup, candles and
detergents. Almost half of the palm oil imported into the EU is used as biofuel. Since 2009,
the mandatory blending of biofuels into motor vehicle fuels has been a major cause of
deforestation.

Oil palm plantations currently cover more than 27 million hectares of the Earth’s surface.
Forests and human settlements have been destroyed and replaced by “green deserts”. These
plantations release vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Indonesia, world’s
largest producer of palm oil, temporarily surpassed the United States in terms of greenhouse
gas emissions in 2015. With their CO2 and methane emissions, palm oil-based biofuels
actually have three times the climate impact of traditional fossil fuels.

Palm oil is not only bad for the climate: As their forest habitat is cleared, endangered species
such as the orangutan, Borneo elephant and Sumatran tiger are being pushed closer to
extinction. Smallholders and indigenous people who have inhabited and protected the forest
for generations are often brutally driven from their land. Human rights violations are
everyday occurrences, even on supposedly “sustainable” and “organic” plantations. As
consumers, we are largely unaware of these broader issues, yet our daily palm oil
consumption also impacts our health: refined palm oil contains large amounts of harmful
fatty acid esters that are known to damage DNA and cause cancer.