Download Palm oil

Palm oil is a common ingredient of margarines, biscuits, breads, breakfast cereals, instant noodles, shampoos,
lipsticks, candles, detergents, chocolates and ice creams.
The list of products that rely on the unique properties of palm oil is long, with one estimate suggesting that about a
half of all packaged items found in supermarkets contain it. In fact, palm oil is now the most widely used vegetable oil
on the planet, accounting for 65 per cent of all vegetable oil traded internationally.
By 2020, the use of palm oil is expected to double. This is because the world’s population is increasing and people in
countries like China and India are becoming more affluent and so will consume more goods containing palm oil.
The benefits of palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil, high in saturated fats, derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree. It is grown
commercially in several tropical countries but mainly in Indonesia and Malaysia, which account for 85% of global
palm oil production.
The palm fruit yields two distinct oils – palm oil and palm kernel oil. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit, is
edible and used primarily in food products. Palm kernel oil is extracted from the seed of the fruit and is used mainly in
the manufacture of soaps and cosmetics, while palm kernel expeller (PKE) is used as a feed for livestock and as
biofuel for generating electricity.
Oil palm is highly productive, capable of yielding more oil from less land than any other vegetable oil, with relatively
modest inputs. As a result, palm oil production has become an important source of income and a major part of the
economy in the regions where it is grown, providing livelihoods for local communities and helping to lift people out of
poverty.
The impacts of palm oil
Clearing land for oil palm plantations has led to widespread deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia as well as other
regions. This has pushed many species to the brink of extinction, such as rhinos, elephants, orang-utans and tigers. In
some cases, forest clearance has forced indigenous peoples off their land, deprived them of their livelihoods and
reduced essential ecosystem services such as clean water and fertile soil.
Globally, the destruction of tropical forests is a major contributor to climate change, as felled and burned trees and
vegetation release methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Moreover, because fire is often used as a
cheap and quick means to clear land for oil palm plantations, the resulting air pollution can block out the sun and
threaten human health both near and far.
In recent years, almost a fifth of oil palm expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia has taken place on peat swamps. When
these peat swamps are cleared and drained they release enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Up
to 66 percent of all climate change emissions from oil palm plantations come from the 17 per cent of plantations on
carbon-rich peat soils.
Environment
A large proportion of palm oil expansion occurs at the expense of biodiversity and ecosystems in the countries it is
produced. Currently, a third of all mammal species in Indonesia are considered to be critically endangered as a
consequence of this unsustainable development that is rapidly encroaching on their habitat.
One animal of particular importance according to conservationists is the orang-utan, which has become a charismatic
icon for deforestation in Borneo and Sumatra. Over 90% of orang-utan habitat has been destroyed in the last 20 years,
and as such, is considered “a conservation emergency” by the UN. An estimated 1000-5000 orang-utans are killed
each year for this development. The orang-utan is a keystone species and plays a vital role in maintaining the health of
the ecosystem. An example of this being the spread of rainforest seeds in Indonesia, many of which can only
germinate once passed through the gut of an orang-utan, hence this primate is essential for the existence of the forest.
But the orang-utan is not the only species affected by palm oil development; their situation represents the story of
thousands of other species facing the same fate in South-East Asia.
Deforestation for palm oil production also contributes significantly to climate change. The removal of the native
forests often involves the burning of invaluable timber and remaining forest undergrowth, emitting immense quantities
of smoke into the atmosphere and making Indonesia the third highest greenhouse gas emitter in the world.
Animals
There are over 300,000 different animals found throughout the jungles of Borneo and Sumatra, many of which are
injured, killed and displaced during deforestation. In addition, palm oil development increases accessibility of animals
to poachers and wildlife smugglers who capture and sell wildlife as pets, use them for medicinal purposes or kill them
for their body parts. The destruction of rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra is therefore not only a conservation
emergency, but a major animal welfare crisis as well.
Wildlife such as orang-utans have been found buried alive, killed from machete attacks, guns and other weaponry.
Government data has shown that over 50,000 orang-utans have already died as a result of deforestation due to palm oil
in the last two decades. This either occurs during the deforestation process, or after the animal enters a village or
existing palm oil plantation in search of food. Mother orang-utans are also often killed by poachers and have their
babies taken to be sold or kept as pets, or used for entertainment in wildlife tourism parks in countries such as
Thailand and Bali.
Other mega fauna that suffer as a result of this development include species like the Sumatran Tiger, Sumatran
Rhinoceros, Sun Bear, Pygmy Elephant, Clouded Leopard and Proboscis Monkey. Road networks that are constructed
to allow palm oil plantation workers and equipment access to the forest also increase accessibility of these areas to
poachers that are looking for these kinds of valuable animals. This allows poachers to comfortably drive to an area to
sit and wait for their target where previously they may have had to trek through inaccessible areas of forest.
People
The establishment of oil palm plantations is often promoted as a way of bringing development to poor, rural regions of
Borneo and Sumatra. In reality, the industry often has devastating impacts on the people in these areas. All too often,
the government’s main interest in the country’s economy leads them to allow corporations to take the land owned by
indigenous peoples for their own financial benefit.
The palm oil industry is also linked to major human rights violations, including child labour in remote areas of
Indonesia and Malaysia. Children are made to carry large loads of heavy fruit, weed fields and spend hours every day
bent over collecting fruit from the plantation floor. Heat exhaustion and cuts and bruises from climbing thorny oil
palms are commonplace in this damaging workspace. More than often not, children receive little or no pay for their
efforts.
With plantations systematically destroying the rainforest land that the local people depend on, communities are
continuously finding themselves with no choice but to become plantation workers. Faced with poor and degrading
working conditions, they often earn barely enough income to survive and support their families. Instead of being able
to sustain themselves, indigenous communities become reliant on the success of the palm oil industry for their income
and survival, leaving these villagers incredibly vulnerable to the world market price of palm oil which they have no
control over.