Palm oil

[[File:Palm Oils - outer pulp vs kernel from African Oil Palm - Elaeis guineenisis.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Palm oil (left glass), derived from the fruit, and palm kernel oil, derived from the nut]]
{{Enviro}}
'''Palm oil''' is a vegetable oil derived from the fruit of one of 3 species of palm trees (primarily '' Elaeis guineensis''), which grows in tropical climates. The use of palm oil is very common in large scale commercial food production, and is becoming more common in biofuels.<ref>[http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_cost_of_the_biofuel_boom_destroying_indonesias_forests/2112/ The Cost of the Biofuel Boom: Destroying Indonesia’s Forests]</ref> It is ubiquitous, found in half of processed foods on grocery store shelves.<ref name=RAN>[http://www.ran.org/palm_oil "Palm Oil"], Rainforest action network.</ref> This is because it's currently the lowest-cost replacement for partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which are now more-or-less banned due to their [[trans fat]] content (palm oil has no trans fat, but ''is'' high in saturated fats, which have a similar stiffness at room temperature).<ref name=NPR>[http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/07/25/205486197/palm-oil-in-the-food-supply-what-you-should-know Palm Oil In The Food Supply: What You Should Know] The Cost of the Biofuel Boom: Destroying Indonesia’s Forests</ref> Additionally, it is touted as an [[alternative medicine]], despite its claimed benefits being extremely dubious.

In 2012, 2.7 billion pounds of palm oil was imported into the [[United States]].<ref name=NPR /> The United States and Europe collectively consume 13% of the world's palm oil, and its production make up a part of the gross domestic product of [[Indonesia]] and [[Malaysia]].<ref>[http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publications/350/files/original/Profitability_and_Sustainability_in_Palm_Oil_Production.pdf?1345734683 Profitability and Sustainability in Palm Oil Production: Analysis of Incremental Financial Costs and Benefits of RSPO Compliance], p.4</ref> Overall, global consumption of palm oil has increased 4-fold in 20 years.<ref>http://www.climatecentral.org/news/palm-oil-production-climate-18338</ref>

Palm oil is very controversial, since oil palms grow only in a tropical climate, it usually involves deforestation in tropical areas.<ref>Saturated fats congeal when they get cold.  c.f. [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/694/why-is-palm-oil-bad-for-you Why is Palm Oil Bad for You?], ''The Straight Dope'', 10-Feb-1989</ref> Clearing the land for producing the oil also contributes directly to global warming as the land is usually cleared through burning, which releases CO<sub>2</sub>.<ref>[http://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/palm-oil Palm oil introduction Palm Oil: Impacts]</ref> Palm oil has also been linked to human rights violations (as people are forcibly relocated for the creation of more palm oil)<ref name=RAN /> and systemic corruption.<ref name="yale">[http://e360.yale.edu/feature/indonesias_corruption_legacy_clouds_a_forest_protection_plan/2353/ Indonesia’s Corruption Legacy Clouds a Forest Protection Plan]</ref>

==Deforestation==
In Indonesia, palm oil has been linked to illegal logging and deforestation.<ref name="yale"/> One example of this is the conversion of 36,000 hectares of a national forest within the country into illegal palm fields, <ref>[http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publications/751/files/original/Palming_Off_a_National_Park_report_2013.pdf?1418397227 "Palming Off a National Forest", World Wildlife Foundation, page 3]</ref> which is of the 80,000 hectares left of the 1.8 million hectares originally set aside for the forest in the 1980's. Some of the areas used in the palm oil production have a high amount of [[biodiversity]]; as the biogeographical region of Indonesia and Malaysia in which plantations exists contain over 15,000 species of plants and animals, of which 642 are either threatened or have become recently extinct.<ref>Ibid, page 5</ref><ref>Brooks, T. M., Mittermeier, R. A., Mittermeier, C. G., Da Fonseca, G. A. B., Rylands, A. B., Konstant, W. R., Flick, P., Pilgrim, J., Oldfield, S., Magin, G. and Hilton-Taylor, C. (2002), Habitat Loss and Extinction in the Hotspots of Biodiversity. Conservation Biology, 16: 909–923. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00530.x</ref> 

With the crunch for space in Indonesia and Malaysia, the production of palm oil is set to expand in [[Africa]], with 4 million hectares already being allocated for palm oil production in Africa during the last 15 years.<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/jan/15/palm-oil-risk-to-africa-forest]"Palm oil risk to Africa as prospectors eye swaths of land", The Guardian, 15 January 2015</ref>.

In one 99-year lease, Herakles Farms had tried to acquire 73,000 acres for a palm oil plantation in Cameroon for $1 an acre. The company was trying to harvest and export 3 billion cubic meters of timber in the lease area.<ref>[http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/sites/oaklandinstitute.org/files/OI_Report_Herakles_Exposed.pdf]Herakles Exposed:
The Truth Behind Herakles Farms False Promises in Cameroon, Greenpeace/The Oakland Institute</ref> The action was later stopped by a government order in Cameroon.<ref>[http://www.heraklesfarms.com/docs/HeraklesFarmsMINFOFOrderPressRelease18May2013.pdf] A statement from the company.</ref>

In [[Papua New Guinea]] the foreign-owned palm oil company Rimbunan Hijau has shown a pattern of coercion, violence and corruption, while depriving traditional landowners access to forests.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/10/09/png-palm-oil-undercover-sting/ In secret tapes, palm oil execs disclose corruption, brutality: Global Witness, an environmental and human rights organization, sent undercover investigators to get the scoop] by Desmond Butler (October 9, 2021) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==Climate change==
Both the production of palm oil and the conversion of land into palm plantations are large sources of [[greenhouse gas]]es.

In Indonesia, the areas being converted into palm oil production were forests growing on peat soils. Decomposing peat rots, sending large amounts of both [[carbon]] and [[methane]] into the atmosphere. The conversion of peat into plantations is expected to put several million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as they decompose.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthcomment/3317396/Bog-barons-Indonesias-carbon-catastrophe.html] "Bog barons: Indonesia's carbon catastrophe", The Telegraph</ref> Around 4,000 tons of CO<sub>2</sub> will be released with each hectare of peat drained for palm oil production.<ref>[http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6059] Global Palm Oil Demand Fueling Deforestation</ref> The smoke from the fires is enough to cause serious health problems in countries around Indonesia, especially [[Singapore]].<ref>[http://www.climatecentral.org/news/palm-oil-production-climate-18338] Palm Oil Production Poses Problems for the Climate</ref>

==Palm fruit oil==

Palm oil has been called a health substance by [[Mehmet Oz|Dr. Oz]], who claims that it will somehow stop heart disease<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/michael-kruse/dr-oz-oil_b_2444772.html] "I Don't Buy What Dr. Oz Is Trying to Sell", Huffington Post</ref> and that when consumed goes "straight to liver and ignites metabolism", and that it prevents cancer through antioxidants.<ref>[http://www.doctoroz.com/article/why-you-should-give-red-palm-oil-try?page=3] Destroying the environment can add years to your life!</ref> There has been some controversy about whether palm oil is healthy or not, but palm oil does have a very high concentration of saturated fat. One study in [[Costa Rica]] found that palm oil usage likely reduced the incidence of myocardial infarction.<ref>[http://jn.nutrition.org/content/135/11/2674.full Myocardial Infarction in Costa Rica] by Edmond K. Kabagambe et al. ''J. Nutr.'' November 1, 2005 vol. 135 no. 11 2674-2679</ref> However, a 23-country study found that palm oil could be responsible for increasing ischemic heart disease and stroke.<ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3271960/ Multi-Country analysis of palm oil consumption and cardiovascular disease mortality for countries at different stages of economic development: 1980-1997] by Brian K. Chen et al. ''Global Health'' 2011; 7: 45. doi:10.1186/1744-8603-7-45</ref>

Palm oil should not be confused with ''palm kernel oil'', which is even higher in saturated fat.  The former is derived from the tree's fruit; the latter is derived from the kernel (pit) of the fruit.

In 2019, the World Health Organization reported that the palm oil industry is using tactics similar to that of the [[alcohol]] and [[tobacco]] industries by influencing scientific research on the health effects of palm oil.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-palmoil/who-study-likens-palm-oil-lobbying-to-tobacco-and-alcohol-industries-idUSKCN1P21ZT WHO study likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries] by Tom Miles (January 8, 2019 / 10:43 AM) ''Reuters''.</ref>

== So, is there any upside? ==
Oil palm plantations yield roughly 10 times as much oil per year per hectare as soybean plantations do.<ref>[https://www.toptal.com/finance/market-research-analysts/palm-oil-investing An Investor’s Guide to Palm Oil], article from c. 2016</ref>  Canola is about 3 times more land-efficient for oil production than soybeans<ref>[https://farm-energy.extension.org/rapeseed-and-canola-for-biodiesel-production/ Rapeseed and Canola for Biodiesel Production], ''Extension'', 3-April-2019</ref>, which still leaves oil palms ~3 times as land-efficient as canola.  Of course, canola and soy don't have to be grown in the tropics, and there are other uses for the non-oily parts of the soy plant.

==References==
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[[Category:Diet woo]]

Categories: Diet woo