Until recently, palm oil was labeled “vegetable oil” on ingredients lists. A new regulation is changing that: if products contain palm oil, they will be labeled as such. Whether it’s soup, chocolate, lipstick, soap or washing powder – all contain palm oil. But their product descriptions simply mention “vegetable fat” or “vegetable oil.” Also included
When a multi national palm oil company expanded into Sierra Leone, rainforests were leveled and local livelihoods disappeared. Some say that this is the price of development while others want their land back. Crespo is not from Sahn Malen but he knows that everything is different there. He only occasionally brings people there on his
Pledges by major brands to stop buying palm oil from companies known to destroy rainforests have failed to stop the clearance of a total area of forest the size of Los Angeles in just the last three years. That’s the finding from a new reprot by Greenpeace, which sought to gauge the progress made by
French farmers have started a three-day blockade of refineries after a decision by Total to import cheaper palm oil for its biofuel plant. The move has fanned farmer discontent over unfair competition. The Vatry fuel depot in the Marne region of northeastern France was the first to be blocked on Sunday evening as about 100
Palm oil can be used in everything from cosmetics to fuel, and is cheap and efficient to produce. But this versatile crop has a dark side — its incredible popularity has caused widespread environmental destruction. Ancient humans were buried with casks of it. In traditional African medicine, it’s used to treat pain. It can be
Members of the European Parliament have rejected an attempt to phase out support for crop-based biofuels. So what’s next in the food versus fuel debate? After years of controversy surround the European Union’s financial support for using palm oil as biofuel in cars, last week’s news that the European Parliament has voted to ban such
In recent years, Peru’s sprawling jungle has been cleared for palm oil and cocoa plantations. Conservationists say the land is controlled by private companies who acquired it through corrupt means. The Peruvian rainforest isn’t what it used to be. Land that just a couple of years ago was covered in the thick foliage of the
On Indonesia’s eastern islands, the last wild forests are being clear-cut and replaced with oil palm plantations. Although the product is practically indispensible, green groups say virgin land needn’t be cleared for it. The island of Papua is home to an exuberant array of animals. Tens of millions of years of continuous biological evolution on
A new WWF report says palm oil plantations drive destruction of biodiverse tropical forests, but substitute vegetable oils use even more land. The solution: Reduce demand. And maybe, in future, make oil from algae. Palm oil is an extraordinarily useful commodity that’s used in everything from candy bars, detergents and lip moisturizer to – increasingly
Palm oil has become a major biofuel for EU vehicles, new figures show. But far from an eco-friendly alternative, biodiesel is 80 percent worse for the climate than fossil diesel, critics say. Will the EU change course? Once touted by some as an eco-friendly fule of the future, palm oil has surged forward on the