Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil derived from the palm fruit, grown on the African oil palm tree. Oil palms are originally from Western Africa, but can flourish wherever heat and rainfall are abundant. Today, almost all palm oil is produced in, and exported from, Indonesia and Malaysia; but most of the time not using sustainable measures.
Vast areas of pristine rainforest is slashed and burned each year in order to make way for oil palm plantations. Many orangutans and other wildlife are killed in the process, so that this one vegetable oil can be used in many of our everyday foods and products. This large-scale deforestation is pushing orangutans to extinction, along with many other native species of Borneo and Sumatra.
Palm oil is an extremely popular vegetable oil amongst manufacturers. It is used in over 50% of products, including: baked goods, confectionery, cosmetics, body products and cleaning agents. But in many countries, there is no law on the mandatory labelling of palm oil. Consequently, companies will usually hide palm oil under the name of 'vegetable oil', or over 170 other names! (See the list of the most common 30 names below).
One argument is that we need palm oil in today's society, and that palm oil is a key ingredient in many foods and body products. But what about 30 years ago? Back then, palm oil wasn't use is nearly as many products as today (as seen in the graphs found on the 'Images' page), in fact, it was almost non-existant in much of the Western-world. So why does there need to be such a high demand for it in the modern world? We don't need palm oil. There a many alternatives to palm oil, but unfortunately none as cheap and efficient, which is why companies are reluctant to switch. ... continue reading>> http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/palm-oil.php
Vast areas of pristine rainforest is slashed and burned each year in order to make way for oil palm plantations. Many orangutans and other wildlife are killed in the process, so that this one vegetable oil can be used in many of our everyday foods and products. This large-scale deforestation is pushing orangutans to extinction, along with many other native species of Borneo and Sumatra.
Palm oil is an extremely popular vegetable oil amongst manufacturers. It is used in over 50% of products, including: baked goods, confectionery, cosmetics, body products and cleaning agents. But in many countries, there is no law on the mandatory labelling of palm oil. Consequently, companies will usually hide palm oil under the name of 'vegetable oil', or over 170 other names! (See the list of the most common 30 names below).
One argument is that we need palm oil in today's society, and that palm oil is a key ingredient in many foods and body products. But what about 30 years ago? Back then, palm oil wasn't use is nearly as many products as today (as seen in the graphs found on the 'Images' page), in fact, it was almost non-existant in much of the Western-world. So why does there need to be such a high demand for it in the modern world? We don't need palm oil. There a many alternatives to palm oil, but unfortunately none as cheap and efficient, which is why companies are reluctant to switch. ... continue reading>> http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/palm-oil.php
PALM OIL FACTS
- Oil palms produce more per hectare of land than any other oil-producing crop
- Palm oil has surpassed soy oil as the world’s most popular vegetable oil
- Palm oil is used in about 50% of all packaged food products in supermarkets today
- Palm oil is used in a wide range of foods (e.g. margarine, ice cream) and non-food products (e.g. shampoos, soap, cosmetics) to make them more ‘creamy’