We need to talk about palm oil
Palm oil appears in a dizzying amount of products we use every day under assorted titles. For better or worse, this versatile crop has changed the world as we know it in recent decades.
When asked whether they use palm oil every day, most of us would likely answer ‘no’. It might even sound exotic and interesting – not something that appears on the ingredient list of about 70% of the goods we find in our homes. Certainly not something you’d use eight kilograms of every year.
Going by more than 20 names (some of the most common being sodium lauryl sulphate, cetyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate and sodium isostearoyl lactylaye), palm oil’s presence in products is easily obscured. And the only thing more dizzying than its long list of pseudonyms is its ubiquity in consumer goods. Found in everything from biscuits and bread to face creams, washing detergents and plastics, palm oil has arguably become the single-most successful ingredient in the world.
3 billion people in 150 countries around the world use products containing palm oil
Elaeis guineensis, the tropical forest palm that’s used to make palm oil, is native to Central Africa. Oil can be extracted from the fruit and seed at a rate of three to eight times more than any other oil crop, making it the most prolific oil-producing plant on earth. Oil palms are perennial, exceptionally efficient photosynthesizers and can grow in almost any soil – all properties that have helped it along on its path to dominance.
In the 1960s, amid anti-fat hysteria, consumer goods giant Unilever identified palm oil as a healthier alternative to both trans and saturated fats. Production has been growing steadily ever since; most recently quadrupling from 15.2 million to 62.6 million tonnes between 2005 and 2015. A pattern of growth that’s only expected to continue. Partially responsible for the surge in demand that has driven these increases is the economic development taking place across Asia.
It’s a well-established economic phenomenon that as a population’s income increases, so too does its consumption of fat. Rapidly accelerating economies, steadily rising populations and the wide use of oil in ever-popular packaged and fast foods have meant that just three countries (India, China and Indonesia) account for nearly 40% of total palm oil consumption worldwide. And with their growth, prosperity and penchant for processed foods, there’s no sign that this demand will abate.
India’s fast-food market has exploded since the late ’80s, with 2 784 American fast-food chain outlets recorded across the country in 2019
Despite its origins in Central Africa, the oil palm is most widely grown in Southeast Asia. In this region, Malaysia and Indonesia are responsible for producing 85% of the world’s supply of palm oil. The product has accelerated economic growth, becoming a source of income for many and lifting households out of poverty. But the health benefits over other oils, its accessibility and the economic upliftment that palm oil enables are just a few of many reasons why the crop has been so wildly successful. Another is its versatility.
While it is found in virtually every commercially produced baked good, confectionary, fast food, shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste, palm oil is used to manufacture far more than just the items found on supermarket shelves. The ease with which it’s fractionated – that is, distilled into oils of different consistencies – opens it to endless possible applications.
In 2009, the European Union commissioned the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), part of which focused on reducing transport emissions and increasing reliance on renewable resources. The implementation of the directive saw a fivefold increase in the use of palm oil as a biofuel component in just three years. Ironically, in its mission to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change, the increased demand for biofuel in the EU has resulted in significant habitat loss and greenhouse gas emissions due to deforestation. All spurred by oil palm cultivation.
Unlike food and beauty products, though, where palm oil’s beneficial properties make it tough to replace, other less environmentally damaging oils like sunflower or soybean work just as well for biofuel. The only difference? Price. Evergreen, unfussy and fruitful, oil palm is one of the most cost-effective crops to cultivate. Per hectare, the tree produces roughly five times more oil than canola, six times what sunflowers can and eight more than soybeans.
72.27 million tonnes of palm oil were produced in 2019
Farmers have also tapped into ways to profit from the by-products of palm oil production. Empty fruit bunches, pressed fibres and shells can be used to generate electricity, mulch oil palm estates and produce particle boards as well as charcoal briquettes. These practices push up the profit margins on palm oil, increasing its economic viability and making it the obvious choice for use in nearly any commercial endeavour.
Add this to it’s synonymy with poverty reduction and it’s clear why governments of oil palm-producing countries support and even encourage the development of the sector regardless of its drawbacks.
While there is plenty to debate around the merits of palm oil production, a few things are certain. This crop’s incredible versatility, ease of cultivation and low cost have made it the perfect ingredient for innumerable applications and the ideal export product to jumpstart developing economies. However, the adverse effects on the environment and climate appear to be far more significant.
Deforestation, human rights violations, extinction, forced labour and biodiversity loss are just a few of the words that jump out when reading through the results on Google’s News tab after searching ‘palm oil’. While these certainly require deeper investigation, the fact that they come up at all should be cause for concern.
