Welcome curious minds to my weekly blog! The palm oil industry has found its way to the attention of conservationists and environmental activists all over the world. I thought of addressing this issue since I have recently noticed palm oil cultivation in some regions in Sri Lanka, which is unnecessary since we already have many other profitable crops which we could produce. If you don’t already know why palm oil has received media attention? Let me give you a concise summary of the effects of the palm oil industry that has gained media attention.
Palm oil can be found in products all over the globe, from being a cooking oil to being used as a raw material for products such as detergents, toiletries, cosmetics and many more. Naturally, a product having an ability to be used in various ways as mentioned only increases in demand. So how come a product that has many uses to modern day society become a global concern in the last couple of years? To understand this, let's look at the palm oil industry in Indonesia. Indonesia is currently the worlds largest palm oil manufacturer, accounting for 36,000,000 metric tons in 2016. The two main islands which produce palm oil in Indonesia are Borneo and Sumatra islands. Both of these islands were home to ancient rainforests and an array of exotic endemic wildlife. Especially the orangutang, considered to have the closest DNA match to humans. As a result of virgin forest clearances in Borneo and Sumatra islands, over 50,000 orangutangs have been recorded dead and the number keeps increasing. Also, the clearing of rainforests releases a massive amount of greenhouse gases, contributing to human-induced climate change. In Indonesia, palm oil plantations occupy over 11.9 million hectares. The worst part about the industry in Indonesia is they continue to destroy virgin forests by starting fires which release around 11.3 million tons of carbon emissions per day.
On a global scale, we are consuming over 50 million tonnes of palm oil each year. Certain countries label palm oil as vegetable oil so it is difficult to know how many products have palm oil but it is certain that you and I consume palm oil every day. The reason for the increasing demand for palm oil is because of its many traits to be an essential ingredient in food and other product; it has a long shelf life, versatile and is cheap to produce with high profits. The global demand keeps pressurising the palm oil producing countries to increase their plantations to provide for the demand.
Palm oil itself is not a product that should be banned because there are records of its use even during 3000 BC but it is important to ensure that the palm oil we consume now on a daily basis does not destroy the planet we live on and push species to the brink of extinction. We have to ensure that the palm oil is produced ethically and has a lower carbon footprint to what it has now. The Indonesian government signed a moratorium which took effect in 2011, to halt giving new permits to clear virgin forests and peatlands temporarily but there have been a number of times where the moratorium has been breached by the Indonesian government. This was after Norway provided Indonesia with USD $1 billion dollars in exchange for the moratorium. It is obvious that corruption lingers through industries such as this.
I would urge all my readers to push for an ethical palm oil industry on a global scale where we can enjoy the many benefits brought about by palm oil but not at the expense of wildlife or forests. For now, let's limit the use of palm oil products as much as we can until the industry is forced to produce ethically.
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