Palm Oil & Why You Shouldn’t Stop Using It

The orangutan Iceland advert has been doing the rounds like crazy this week. Cool… It’s got everyone talking about palm oil and awareness is great. But, there is so much more to consider before you decide to completely avoid palm oil. Or before you give up trying altogether – which, is tempting when you realise just how many products it’s in. The entire thing is a total minefield. So, strap yourselves in and let’s learn about palm oil.

TL;DR: DON’T STOP USING PALM OIL. Start using the right kind of palm oil.

I’m not going to sugar coat it. The destruction and devastation we are causing as a species is horrendous. Don’t worry this isn’t going to be all doom and gloom I just want you to take a minute out of your life to think about the impact we are having by consuming palm oil. Orangutans are getting the majority of the publicity on this one, they are the martyrs. Maybe it’s because they’re so similar to us and completely innocent that we have the highest level of empathy for them.

But they are not the only ones suffering. Indigenous people are losing their land to plantations. Forests are being torn down which means a loss of biodiversity. Forests are being burned, which is crazy bad for its inhabitants and the environment. And it’s not just Orangutans. Other species of monkeys are affected, tigers, elephants, sun bears. The list goes on.

How can one simple ingredient be causing so much damage? Well, sadly where there’s exploitation, there’s money to be made. Let’s go back a few hundred years. We look back at The Atlantic Slave Trade like how was that ever allowed to happen. But why did it happen? Because Europeans developed a taste for sugar and someone was going to make as much money off that as possible.

So here we are. Large organisations are producing palm oil in the cheapest way possible with no disregard for the habitat or the wildlife they’re destroying. All so that we can keep using cheap commodities and they get to pocket the profit.

We buy our favourite biscuits, they pocket the cash, 25 orangutans a day die. That, folks, is what we call a win-win-lose. Except that it’s really a lose-win-lose because I know the majority of us would be devastated if we were to be held accountable for the extinction of such amazing and innocent species.

Let’s look at things from their perspective. They’re making money and they probably feel like they’ve got their backs against the wall. If they’re the first to make a change, they’ll likely lose some share of the market to competitors. Because now, their competitors’ products will be cheaper. Boo-fucking-hoo I know.

Unsustainable PO is sourced by making way for more plantations and expanding the already enormous scale of them – sometimes by illegally burning down the forest to make way.

Recently, whilst we were in Borneo we were driving through ginormous plantations and our taxi driver (obviously a valuable source of information) was telling us that rather than picking the palm fruit from the trees, the trees are cut down. This makes sense because they’re then benefiting from selling the timber to say, someone like IKEA and making more money. But what do you do for the next four years whilst your trees grow back? Expand to multiple plantations so you can alternate year on year.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), an area the equivalent size of 300 football fields of rainforest is cleared each hour to make way for palm oil production. That is terrifying.

Sustainable PO is sourced by farming palm oil without causing any unnecessary harm or destruction. Companies that sign up to this work with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s (RSPO) and adhere to their conditions are certified as sustainable. About 20% of the worlds palm oil is now said to be sourced sustainably.

Well, the fact is, palm oil isn’t a bad oil to use. It’s in everything for a reason. You can check out what it uses are per product here.

What’s more, WIRED recently wrote that: “[palm oil] produces up to five times the oil per unit of land and needs far less pesticides and fertiliser. So, swapping it for something else could require humans to use more land, fertiliser and pesticides to meet the world’s oil consumption”.

Further to this, it’s providing jobs and the farmers on the ground are moving out of poverty. They’re making enough money to feed their families and send their kids to school. Check out the video on this page.

So, there you have it. If we stop using palm oil, something else will take over that requires even more land. And think how many years it will take for that plant to become a crisis everyone is finally aware of? Let’s deal with what we know is fixable.

With this in mind let us now consider the advert that has thrown palm oil into the limelight. FYI this was actually a campaign by Greenpeace which has been online for a few months already. This is also why it was banned. The clickbait titles say it was banned for being too political, but it was just banned for being political. Period. Political adverts are not allowed in the UK.

The advert ends with this message from Iceland: “Until palm oil uses zero rainforest destruction, we’re removing palm oil from all of our own label products.”

The advert has had a lot of traction but it’s sending a bit of a mixed message, isn’t it? I thought we weren’t supposed to be boycotting? Well, I’m not going to complain about it because I think it’s great how much awareness they’ve brought to the issue. If people begin to boycott palm oil before they become aware that sustainable is OK, I think we can still send a message.

Now you understand the implications, here’s what you can do.

You can look out for either of the below stickers on your products to find out if they’re sustainable.

If you’re obsessed with something, it’s not sustainable and there’s no suitable alternative, contact the company and let them know how you feel! Use social media or email privately if that’s more your thing.

Now you know what needs to be done, so tell people. If you engage with someone who wants to boycott palm oil because of something they heard, set them straight. Educate them. Knowledge is power. Use your power!

On Say no to palm oil – Don’t be deceived by the title. The full name is ‘say no to palm oil if it hurts, animals, people or the planet. Take their challenge found the ‘what can I do’ section.

I have, in the past supported the Sumatran Orangutan Society because of the work they are doing to protect these animals. There are a number of other organisations you can support (like WWF) depending on what is most important to you.

If enough of us make the switch to sustainable, brands will have to listen. They’re not going to let their competitors crack on and steal the market from their unwoke selves.

There will always be people who can’t afford to pay a bit more for a sustainable product. If the cheapest option is to buy shampoo with unsustainable palm oil in it then what kind of choice does that leave them? If products make the switch to source sustainable palm oil, there will likely be a small price increase in that product. We could do with some help from the Government on this one, but why will the UK Government want to fix an issue that is currently having no immediate effect on us. They probably think they have bigger fish to fry. We have the power as a nation to let them know we’re serious about this. You can sign a petition here.

What irks me is that in developed countries, our chocolate fix or whatever is often more important than the destruction of rainforest and the creatures within it. I get it, things are delicious. But the attitude of ‘I’ve always eaten this and I ain’t going to stop’ is shit. We’ve all become far too used to having what we want when we want. And its time for us to stop before it’s too late. Ask yourself, can I afford to pay slightly more for the sustainable version of this? If the answer is no, is it a necessity? Think about your priorities and what kind of message you are sending.

Orangutans are so dear to my heart. I have managed to see them in wild twice already in both Sumatra (Indonesia) and Borneo (Malaysia) the world’s largest producers of palm oil. Whilst I’ve been in these countries, I’ve also seen the effects of palm oil plantations. Recently, in Borneo, we were driving to a monkey sanctuary and I was thinking about how lush and green Borneo was. Then I realised something. All of the trees were in perfect, neat rows. We were driving through hectacres and hectacres of palm oil plantations. It was horrifying to see.

The wildlife in Indonesia and Borneo is absolutely breath-taking and I for one would be devastated to see any of the species there go extinct because I was too blasé to change my ways. I used to be hot on palm oil but, after a year away from home, I have no idea which products contain it. So, I am setting myself the task of paying attention to the products I buy and I encourage you to do the same. If we all make a small change, we can make a big impact.