Palm oil

The single greatest threat facing orangutans today is the rapidly expanding palm oil trade. Rainforests are being cleared at the rate of 300 football fields per hour to make way for oil palm plantations.

While there are millions of hectares of degraded land that could be used for plantations, many oil palm companies choose to instead use rainforest land to gain additional profits by logging the timber first. Palm oil companies also frequently use uncontrolled burning to clear the land, resulting in thousands of orangutans being burned to death. Those that survive have nowhere to live and nothing left to eat.

What is palm oil?

Palm oil is a form of edible vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the African oil palm tree. It is believed to have recently eclipsed soybean oil to become the world's most widely-produced edible oil. 

It is used in many food, cosmetic and household products. More recently it is being touted as a biofuel - despite evidence that the use of palm oil-based diesel actually increases greenhouse emissions.

Why is palm oil a threat to the orangutans?

The increased demand for palm oil, which is grown only in tropical environments, is fuelling destruction of the rainforest habitat of Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, pushing those endangered species even closer to extinction. Estimates show that if something isn't done soon to stop the spread of oil palm plantations into the forests, orangutans will be extinct within 10-20 years.

What products contain palm oil?

Many everyday products contain palm oil. It is found in ice cream, chocolate, biscuits, crackers, chips, margarine, fruit juice, batters, soap, toothpaste, laundry powders, detergents, cosmetics and pet food to name but a few. It is also found in a wide array of products sold in natural food stores.

It is often difficult to know whether palm oil is in a product as it is usually simply labelled "vegetable oil". However the label must declare the amount of saturated fat in the product. If the product has saturated fat, you can safely assume that the vegetable oil is palm kernel oil, palm oil or coconut oil.

Palm oil in cosmetics is labelled Elaeis guineensis. Other ingredients which may be palm oil based include sodium lauryl sulphate, cetyl alcohol, stearic acid, isopropyl and other palmitates, steareth-2, steareth-20 and fatty alcohol sulphatesl.

For a list of products which are palm oil free, click here.

Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil?

The answer is yes but only about 3-4% of total production is currently certified as sustainable.  Furthermore manufacturers are proving reluctant to pay the premium associated with this product.

Manufacturers may claim to be using sustainable palm oil because they are members of, or supplied by members of, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. However, this in itself is no guarantee as members only need commit to "working towards" producing a sustainable product.

What can I do about palm oil?

There are a number of things you can do:

• Check the ingredients - if the product contains palm oil (usually labelled as vegetable oil or fat), check with the manufacturer as to whether it is certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). If yes, you can be comfortable that the product is "orangutan friendly". If not, seek an alternative product.
• You can also write letters to retailers and the government expressing your concerns and demanding change. You'll find sample letters on the Palm Oil Action Group site (www.palmoilaction.org.au)
• Be part of Melbourne Zoo's "Don't Palm Us Off" campaign and add your name to the list of those asking for change in labelling requirements (www.zoo.org.au/PalmOil)
• You can also sign the attached Palm Oil Action Group petitions requesting the Government initiate change in standards to require compulsory labelling of palm oil and cease imports of palm oil based biofuels.
• Inform your family, friends and colleagues of the issue.

Public pressure will be the best weapon in bringing about change. We know it can work. Witness the recent decision by Cadbury to remove palm oil from its dairy milk chocolate range in Australia and New Zealand as a result of complaints from the public. 

10 March 2010
It is no secret that orangutans are threatened with extinction because their rain forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Ten years ago, Shawn Thompson, a writer, former journalist and university professor, set out to chronicle the threat to orangutans in a book released in March 2010. Read Article »

10 March 2010
Research into the long calls of male Orangutans in Borneo has given scientists new insight into how these solitary apes communicate through dense jungle. Read Article »

2 March 2010
'Environmentally-friendly' biofuels have been found to be more harmful to the planet than normal fossil fuel. Read Article »

22 February 2010
BBC documentary shows Indonesian company clearing protected rainforest.

18 February 2010
Gorillas, orang-utans and a cyanide-eating lemur are among the world’s 25 most critically endangered primates, scientists have said. Read Article »

5 February 2010
The European Commission and some EU member states hope to redefine palm oil plantations as "forests," according to a leaked document from the EU executive. Read Article »

26 January 2010
Project to create sustainable palm oil project undermined by Western firms

25 January 2010
Payments to developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation will only succeed if corruption and lack of financial management capacity are addressed, says new report. Read Article »