Insider Knowledge: The Good & Bad Oil on Palm Oil

Palm Oil has gained a bad wrap.

Some tout it’s reputation for damaging the environment and orangutan habitat, or causing peat fires, as grounds for total boycott. 

But with most things in this modern world, the situation is far from black & white. 

I’ve had a lot of experience with palm oil. I was the Sustainability Manager at one of Australia’s biggest grocery retailers for 8 years. It was my job to write policy, develop action plans, implement change, and report on palm oil content to the RSPO. 

Let me share with you now insider knowledge on the good oil – and the bad oil – on palm oil. 

The Good & Bad Oil On Palm Oil

There is bad palm oil.

There are also better palm oils.

Some is even described as sustainable.

Why Is Some Palm Oil Bad?

• Palm oil is high in saturated fat. One tablespoon of palm oil contains 55 percent of the daily recommendation of saturated fat.

• Up to 300 football fields of forest are cleared every HOUR to make room for palm plantations.

• In the past 10 years, the orangutan population has decreased by 50 percent as the result of habitat loss from forest clearing for palm plantations.

• There are only 6,300 Sumatran orangutans left. It is estimated that 1,000 orangutans are killed a year, a major factor in these deaths being forest clearing for palm production. In 2006, at least 1,500 orangutans were clubbed to death by palm workers.

• In Indonesia, the palm oil industry is responsible for about 5,000 land and human rights conflicts. Nearly 45 million people live in the forests of Indonesia. In 2011, Wilmar (one of the world’s largest palm oil producers) bulldozers ransacked an entire village, destroying 40 homes to clear 40,000 hectares of land for a palm plantation.

That’s pretty bad, right? So why would we even consider using palm oil?

What is Good About Palm Oil?

Here are some key reasons why palm oil is a widely used option:

• It crops at a very high rate – 4-10 times more per unit of cultivated land than other oil producing horticulture. This means less land is required to produce the amount of oil consumed by the earths inhabitants.
• There are no sustainable farming, processing, manufacturing and retail certification for any other kinds of vegetable oils, providing no clear guidance that any other kinds of oil are produced to an agreed sustainability standard.
• In some cases, it provides income to small community farmers in developing countries, allowing a better standard of living for vulnerable people;
• When it’s certified sustainable, there is a guarantee that the palm oil contributes far less to the “BAD” methods of farming or creating the “BAD” outcomes described above. 

Why Is Some Palm Oil Better Than The Rest?

There is an international standard for palm oil growers, processors, manufacturers, and retailers that aims to prove that the palm oil is more sustainable. This certified sustainable palm oil is a much better palm oil than uncertified.

RSPO and it’s palm oil certification is not perfect – but it’s a big improvement that is evolving to be more sustainable all the time.

Why is certified sustainable palm oil better?

Under the certification standard, it means that the certified sustainable palm oil:

• benefits local communities with fair working conditions;
• helps protect valuable species and forests;
• can be tracked from plantation to your plate.

The standard is continually improved, ensuring that growing, processing and manufacturing continues to become more sustainable over time. For example, the most basic form of certification, Book & Claim (also known as Green Palm) is being phased out, forcing the supply chain to adopt the higher standards of certification. 

How Is Certified Sustainable Palm Oil Policed?

Fine. So there is a standard some group has come up with to prove that the palm oil is sustainable.

How do I know if a palm oil producer with the logo is really acting sustainably?

Rest easy – the RSPO have got your back. 

The industry & community led Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil organisation believes that achieving 100% certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) is not only a realistic ambition but a vital one too.

The RSPO have set standards and certifications for palm oil that growers, processors, manufacturers, and retailers can adhere to in order to prove that their palm oil is more sustainable than the average. 

Once certified, special logos can be used on pack to let you know that the product contains more sustainable palm oil.

The logos look like this:

Take Action: You can look up the certificate held by the product brand you hold in your hand by searching the brand name here and here.

 

You have a choice. 

When you are in the supermarket, if the product has no RSPO certified sustainable logo, then it’s likely to be bad palm oil. 

If a product has the RSPO certified sustainable logo, then it is a much better palm oil choice. 

The logos indicate different levels of sustainability too. Here is the list of logos in order from lowest level of sustainability to highest:

5. Mixed or % : 

Has some percentage of one or more of the below certification types.

4. Book & Claim (being phased out) :

The chain is not monitored for the presence of sustainable palm oil. Manufacturers and retailers can buy a GreenPalm certificate from a RSPO-certified grower.

3. Mass Balance :

Sustainable palm oil from certified sources is mixed with ordinary palm oil throughout supply chain.

2. Segregated :

Sustainable palm oil from different certified sources is kept separate from ordinary palm oil throughout supply chain.

1.Identity Preserved : 

Sustainable palm oil from a single identifiable certified source is kept separately from ordinary palm oil throughout supply chain.

What’s the Solution?

The solution starts with you – what you buy, what you eat, and how well you are informed.

With the information I’ve shared here, I hope you’ll be more conscious about what you buy at the supermarket and what it is you’re really putting into you and your family’s bodies. .

The production of bad palm oil is rapidly destroying virgin rainforests and ecosystems and causing air pollution to rise and putting many species at risk of extinction. If grown sustainably, ͚good͛ palm oil can benefit local communities with fair working conditions and help protect valuable species and forests.

Armed with the right information – we can make a difference that will improve the lives of vulnerable people, reduce environmental impact, and help to preserve enough – for all – forever.

We have a choice and RSPO is here to guide us through!

In my opinion,  we can say yes to better, more sustainable palm oil – that means certified sustainable palm oil – when choosing between products that contain palm oil.

We should all aim to avoid uncertified palm oil wherever possible, and preference the highest levels of certification (Segregated & Identity Preserved).

Take These Steps

Share this information.
Start to avoid palm oil.
Purchase palm oil alternatives.
Tell the brands you buy to commit to sustainable palm oil or palm oil alternatives.

… and say YES to good palm oil! 

What do you think?

How will what you have discovered here change your shopping habits?

Tell me on social media @willungawino with the hashtag  #GoodBadPalmOil