Green Calgary

The Problem with Palm Oil

Reader Question

Dear Ashley,

Over the years I’ve noticed an interesting trend: most products now contain palm oil. Everything from candy to crackers to soap has the stuff in it. I’ve even noticed palm oil in my “eco” laundry soap. With so much palm oil in everyday products, I have to wonder where it all comes from? Is this really a sustainable source of vegetable oil?

Thanks,

Ronnie

Ashley's Answer

Dear Ronnie,

The global demand for palm kernel oil has skyrocketed in the past two decades (with a six-fold increase in production), and countries in the developing world – primarily Malaysia and Indonesia - have satisfied this demand. Vast tracks of old growth rainforest have been chopped down to make way for large monocultures of oil palm – the tree from which palm oil is derived – and this has put an incredible strain on the local people and wildlife, and the ecosystems for which all life depends.

Massive oil palm plantations have expanded into some of the planet’s most spectacular ecosystems, including rainforests, grasslands and peat swamps – the very places where biodiversity is most pronounced. Orangutans, leopards and sun bears have been deprived of vital habitat, and many traditional and Indigenous have experienced land right violations, robbing them of their subsistence livelihoods and forcing them into export-driven commodity farming or off their land completely. This situation is incredibly sad but it is not unlike what is happening here in North America, where small farmers are losing their way of life to large agribusiness corporations. In fact, several of the companies – ADM, Bunge, and Cargill - that influence (and control) our food system at home are the same ones that own and control the palm plantations overseas. This is perhaps why fifty per cent of the products found in an average North American grocery store now contain palm oil. Luckily, though, the palm oil issue has not gone unnoticed and several groups are working to make change.

Rainforest Action Network (RAN), through its The Problem with Palm Oil campaign, has gotten the support of several dozen companies that have pledged to purchase sustainably harvested palm oil. Perhaps the largest and best known of these companies is the US-based Seventh Generation – a household name for those of you who shop for ecologically sensitive household cleaners and personal care products. Seventh Generation has shown incredible leadership in its commitment to corporate environmental and social sustainablility, while also leading the pack in regards to transparency and the sourcing of sustainably harvested ingredients. They were the first company in their industry in North America to commit to purchasing “sustainable palm kernel oil” across their entire product line and, just recently, they’ve partnered with the Rainforest Action Network to help change the way palm oil is grown around the world.

Now, as much as I applaud the work being done by RAN and others to change the way palm oil is produced, I truly believe this issue begs the question: if not palm oil, what then? It seems that we, as humans, are prone to substituting one problem with another. We choose a “green” laundry product to replace the old toxic, petroleum-based product but in doing so we create yet another problem. Perhaps it is not so much what we use but how much we use. Palm oil was probably a great resource for local villagers but it is very easy to see how problems might arise when the entire world wants the stuff. I’m sure the same logic can be applied to virtually anything we use. When enough people want enough of any one thing we are likely to run into problems.

The solution then, as far as I see it, is to use less stuff. Much of the waste generated by this culture is the result of people going overboard. If we all start to focus on quality instead of quantity, while conserving and being frugal with the things that we do need, then, and only then, is it conceivable that we might actually create some positive change; that we won’t just hop around from one problem to another. Ultimately, we need to reduce our pressure on this finite planet. We need to use what we need and be grateful for what we have. And all of this, all of this, becomes a heck of a lot easier if we come at it from a place of gratitude. As Melody Beattie so eloquently put it: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.” Master this and the rest should come easy.

For more food for thought click here.

Gratefully,

Ashley

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