What's Up With Palm Oil? Part 2: The Problem With Palm

Click here for Part 1: History

After going over the history of palm oil it's easy to see how useful it can be. Today it is widely used in the production of many foods, cosmetics, personal hygiene products, and even biofuel.

So what's the problem? Same answer as usual: social and environmental problems.
However, there are two sides to this coin. But of all the stressors humans put on the environment, why are we picking on palm oil?

Hint: Look at the list in the first post in the series. Cup ramen, margarine... I know those are products I use.

Palm oil something we can pick on in our day-to-day lives, a small thing with an impact that is amplified in the big picture once it goes down the line, and if al ot of people can make even a small change, it all adds up. Despite Earth's notorious abilities for self-restoration, as a resource not only is palm oil particularly high-maintenance when it comes to being produced and sold conscientiously, but we use a lot. According the the WWF, by the year 2000 it was the most widely traded vegetable oil, at 65% in 2006 and it was expected to rise. (And that's why people like you and I are here reading webpages like these, so we can make informed decisions about what we buy, contributing to larger trends in the bigger scheme of things).

So what problems do you help prevent when you out the palm oil?

Deforestation and Significant Interruption of Natural Cycles (The Global Picture)
85% of palm oil sold throughout the world is exported from Indonesia and Malaysia. The issue of climate change easy comes to mind, and although the hype seems to have gone down in pop culture, it is a long-term problem that communities the world over continue to struggle to adapt to.

We look at the emphasis on recycling to minimize our tree consumption and it's clear how important it is; sustainable farming for other tree-related resources works the same way and you are in a sense helping everyone each time you minimize your use.

Habitat Loss (Big picture of Biodiversity)
The zones where the palm trees are farmed are areas that many members of vulnerable species call home. 85% of palm oil sold throughout the world is exported from Indonesia and Malaysia. At the moment, one third of all species of mammals in Indonesia are listed as critically endangered and loss of habitat is a big player.

The Rights of Animals (Value of Life)
In the process of deforestation, animals are both displaced and killed. The sad truth is that during the fall of their home animals might be crushed, buried alive, or even intentionally slaughtered in machete attacks. Hot topics such as veganism and animal testing often spark much controversy, but the loss of life here serves no purpose.

Impacting People (Human Rights)
Depending on the location, the destruction of habitats for animals may also be the destruction of ecosystems that people living in those areas depend on for their livelihood. Unfortunately, what may on one side say 'job opportunity' may also translate to unsafe work environments where violations of human rights can easily unnoticed, and workers are often not given the returns they hoped for and really need..

For most people familiar with environmental issues these areas of impact are easy to grasp. But now time for the million dollar question: If it's so bad....

Why do people farm palm oil?

In a word, poverty. For a little under two years I have worked with Plan International Canada and learned so much (how to be verbal and expressive on important subjects, how stupidly lucky I am to be born where I was...) but one thing is it really educated me on what the cycle of poverty really is; a lack of opportunities perpetrates lack of opportunities. Often the ultimate motivation behind environmental issues is greed for what we do not need, but in the case of palm oil, as it with illegal hunting, the people harvesting the product need the money. They need it to buy their own food, to send their children to school, to prevent having to resort to child marriage. In fact, according to Girls Not Brides, Indonesia (one of the biggest exporters of palm oil next to Malasia) is in the top ten countries with the highest absolute numbers of child brides.

Once we imagine being in that situation, a job opportunity from a wealthy prospector looks like it could be a way out, but unfortunately as discussed in the preceding section, it would be easy for the people who need it most to be exploited.

Let's take a breather for a sec. Remembering the big issue can be overwhelming, but it can be a good reminder to not lose sight of the true essence of what it means to be socially-conscious. When people care and act in that principle, even though the issue is bigger than ourselves as least we will be oriented in the right direction and that is the first step in helping. Even if what we do does not change the whole world, it might change somebody's world, and that's why a balanced approach to helping with both environmental and social issues is still worth it.

So what can we do about this high-maintenance diva of an oil?
That will be discussed in final part of "What's Up With Palm Oil".

Sources:
http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/palm_oil/

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/palm_oil/environmental_impacts/forest_conversion/

http://stories.plancanada.ca/3-girls-who-refused-child-marriage/

http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/indonesia/

[Note: Date and time for this post has been set to be consistent to when the sources were used)

What's Up With Palm Oil? Part 1: History

Click here for the continuation of this series, Part 2: The Problem With Palm

What do ice cream, instant noodles, margarine, lipstick, and soap have in common?

A lot of us have probably used some in the last two weeks, and they also may contain palm oil.

Everything we consume has some sort of impact on the environment and many concerned citizens are eager to find new ways to make more sustainable choices, but honestly my strawberry ice cream cone was not at the top of my list of changes to make for a better world.

Palm oil is a widely-used vegetable oil , but is often produced unsustainable ways and is linked to environmental and social issues.

So what's up with Palm oil?

A (Brief) History of Palm Oil

(To read the full report, see "History of Palm Oil" from The Cambridge World History of Food 2 Volume Boxed Set by Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Coneè Ornelas at http://coconutoil.com/palm_oil_history/) 

Elaeis guineensis, or the oil palm, is a tree native to West Africa. It was likely a food source for indigenous people in unrecorded history, found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and its use in cooking was written about in the journals of some European travelers from the mid 15th century. Today it remains an ingredient in cherished dishes in cultures around the world; trans fat-free, nutritious, containing antioxidants, and used in making many tasty foods.

Upon expansion trade of the red palm oil got its hands dirty, supplying vessels of the transatlantic slave trade. It was used for candlemaking and as a lubricant for machinery, and the demand for palm oil in Europe increased during the British Industrial Revolution it became a modest exporting trade for farmers in Western Africa while also farming for local usage. It is believed that often oil palm trees were self-seeded, ground about by their own natural processes, even possibly after the 1900s European plantations were established in Southeast Asia and Central Africa.

The demand continued to grow ever larger as palm oil slipped its way into Western foods, especially because of non-hydrogenated margarine. Today a lot of us have been warned about the health risks associated with the process of hydrogenation because of trans fats, and this has been a key point in the common butter vs. margarine debate. However, eventually  it was found that palm oil could be processed in a way that allowed it to be used in margarine without undergoing hydrogenation as other vegetable oils may. 

Although in the 1940's the use of palm oil in Western cultures slowed when there were interruptions in trade with Asia, when butter was in short supply during the war people were often encouraged to use margarine.

From there a grading system was developed and made standard by The Produce Control Board and later Nigerian Oil Palm Produce Marketing Board, which motivated producers to develop better processing techniques.

... Today & the RSPO

Today we are at a point in history where sellers of palm oil have been faced with a new challenge; a challenge ensure it is farmed and produced sustainably. Palm oil has a speckled past, but the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (or RSPO) is now challenging traders of palm oil to make a clean slate, and clean up the act for the future.

This is the RSPO's Mission and Vision statement taken directly from their website:

• "Advance the production, procurement, finance and use of sustainable palm oil products
• Develop, implement, verify, assure and periodically review credible global standards for the entire supply chain of sustainable palm oil
• Monitor and evaluate the economic, environmental and social impacts of the uptake of sustainable palm oil in the market
• Engage and commit all stakeholders throughout the supply chain, including governments and consumers." - rspo.org

Basically an RSPO certification compares the means a trader or palm oil with a certain standard so as to minimize negative impacts on the environment, animals, and people.

The oil used in ramen noodles may seem arbitrary, but sustainable or unsustainable farming of it is linked with larger environmental issues that are getting closer to home for people.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of "What's Up With Palm Oil?" to read more about the issues surrounding palm oil, the significance of RSPO, and what each one of us can do to help clean up the act.

In the meantime...

WWF created a satirical trailer, "Unseen" for the drama that is gradually unfolding around unsustainable palm oil. On the surface it may sound far less important and glamorous than the fight against mass deforestation and habitat loss, climate change, or indigenous rights, but the sustainable palm oil is an ingredient affecting all of the above.

Sources

http://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil 

http://coconutoil.com/palm_oil_history/

http://www.soyatech.com/Palm_Oil_Facts.htm

http://www.rspo.org/about/sustainable-palm-oil

http://www.rspo.org/about