Environmental Impact of Palm Oil

There was a time in which I was excited to see palm oil listed on ingredient lists. Although certainly not the healthiest food in the world, this rich saturated fat acts as a viable substitute for hydrogenated oil-- a source of harmful trans fats, which are linked to cardiovascular disease. I was happy to buy cookies from the health food store made with this oil, since-- at least in moderation-- it was a slightly healthier alternative to hydrogenated fats.

As an environmentalist, I was disturbed to find out that this commodity-food isn't the saving-grace I expected it to be. Palm oil isn't a health food sustainably harvested from the rain forest-- ecological calamity wrapped up in an organic cookie. Now that I understand how bad palm oil is for the environment, I count myself among the many environmentalists who are boycotting this oil and products containing it.

Palm Oil Plantations

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, palm oil is the most produced and internationally traded edible oil in the world. Most of this oil comes from industrial plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, where rainforests and swamps are destroyed to accommodate the monocultural growth of oil-yielding palm trees. These ecologically catastrophic plantations now cover tens of thousands of miles of former rainforest, and the amount has been increasing steadily since the 1970s.

Impact on Endangered Wildlife

Indonesia and Malaysia are home to several species of endangered endemic wildlife. Many of the animals living in these regions are not found anywhere else in the world, and will face extinction as a result of the increase in palm oil agriculture. The CSPI specifically highlights the plight of the orangutan, Asian elephant, Sumatran tiger, and Sumatran rhinoceros-- animals that once thrived in rainforest areas now consumed by the palm oil industry. The Sumatran rhinoceros, specifically, faces imminent extinction, with fewer than fifty left in the entire world. CSPI predicts that the orangutan, Asian elephant and Sumatran tiger will meet the same fate by 2020, if the palm oil industry continues to grow as predicted.

Pollution

Pollution from palm oil plantations poses a significant threat to the health of both humans and wildlife in Indonesia and Malaysia. Forest fires, which are intentionally triggered to destroy rainforests for the palm industry, cause air pollution that damages human health, contributes to global warming, and threatens any wildlife who may survive the fires themselves. Clearance of rainforest also causes significant sediment pollution, which can lead to the utter collapse of river ecosystems. Finally, palm oil companies spray massive amounts of harsh, dangerous pesticides-- some of which are banned in the United States-- to maximize oil production.

All around, there is no good that can come from the use of palm oil in industrialized agriculture, so I have vowed to eliminate it from my diet. Canola oil, which is reasonably healthy and only moderately damaging to the environment, is often a viable substitute for palm oil. Coconut oil can also be used as a substitute when a recipe demands a highly saturated fat. We can have the foods we want without wantonly causing environmental catastrophes.

Visit the CSPI's palm oil report for more information about palm oil's impact on the environment.