The Problems with Palm Oil

Bornean elephant in palm oil plantation - the problem with palm oil

Here are the main problems with and the reasons why instead of supporting the industry you should , read more

– both the so-called “sustainable” kind and the non sustainable kind cause extinction and human rights abuses, but there are solutions and there is hope

Palm Oil is a conflict commodity that has to be grown in the ashes of dead rainforests. Species-rich ecosystems are destroyed simply for a constant stream of cheap consumer goods. This is what gives palm oil its evil reputation.

There are many problems with palm oil that are outlined below. These include deforestation, wild animal extinction, human rights abuses, slavery, child slavery, sexual assault of female workers, illegal land-grabbing and violent military interventions to assist in the clearance of land and quelling of land disputes.

Corporate corruption and greenwashing is rife throughout all levels of the palm oil supply chain, including and especially by corporate entities who use so-called “sustainable” palm oil.

The Vice President of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala does not trust the RSPO’s false and weak promise of “sustainable” palm oil

She replies to my conversation on Twitter to advise of this…

Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)
Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

“No voluntary standards or industry schemes have done the job fully [of eliminating deforestation or human rights abuses]. That is why the game-changing EU CSDDD [Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive] is mandatory. Certification is a useful tool but will not liberate the company from its duty of due diligence”

~ Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament and part of the the Human Rights and Democracy panel and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

Problems with Palm Oil

Palm Oil Extinction & Animal Cruelty

Palm Oil & Out Of Control Consumerism

Palm Oil Deforestation, Fires & Ecocide

Palm Oil, Human Rights Abuses & Indigenous Land-Grabbing

Palm Oil & Human Health Hazards

Palm Oil, Greenwashing & Corporate Corruption

Reasons To Be Hopeful

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Palm Oil, Extinction & Animal Cruelty

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Palm Oil & Out of Control Consumerism

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Extinction On Our Plates

The contents of your fridge and dining table directly impacts the future of rare rainforest and ocean animals. That’s because industrial agriculture and aquaculture for commodities like meat, dairy,…

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Madagascar is a hotspot for biodiversity – and deforestation. Dudarev Mikhail / shutterstock

Palm Oil Deforestation, Fires & Ecocide

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the RSPO and palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and extinction

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WHO Bulletin on Palm Oil: Deforestation and Extinction
WHO Bulletin on Palm Oil: Deforestation and Extinction
WHO Bulletin on Palm Oil: Deforestation and Extinction
WHO Bulletin on Palm Oil: Deforestation and Extinction

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Palm Oil, Human Rights Abuses & Indigenous Land-Grabbing

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A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry finds extensive greenwashing of human rights abuses, deforestation, air pollution and human health impacts

Read report
WHO Bulletin on Palm Oil: Deforestation and Extinction
WHO Bulletin on Palm Oil: Air Pollution and Health

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Palm Oil and Human Health Impacts

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry found that the human health impacts of palm oil are downplayed or greenwashed by the industry

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WHO Bulletin Report: Palm Oil and Human Health Impacts
WHO Bulletin Report: Palm Oil and Human Health Impacts
WHO Bulletin Report: Palm Oil and Human Health Impacts
WHO Bulletin on Palm Oil: Air Pollution and Health
WHO Bulletin on Palm Oil: Air Pollution and Health

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Cutting Ultra-Processed Foods Could Save Lives

Recently, the CEO of breakfast giant Kelloggs Gary Pilnick promoted the benefits eating breakfast cereal for dinner as a way for people to cope with the increased cost of living and food:

“Cereal for dinner is something that is probably more on trend now, and we would expect [it] to continue as that consumer is…

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Boycott Meat & Dairy

Four Things to Know about Cholesterol

Cholesterol is among the most feared substances, but why? You need cholesterol to produce some hormones and to build vital structures in your body. But too much-referred to as high cholesterol-can build up in your arteries and lead to heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. That’s why it’s important to get tested and know…

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Boycott

What is causing the latest outbreak of Ebola in Uganda?

In light of the most recent Ebola outbreak in Uganda (over the past month), many people are experiencing a sense of déjà vu. The rapacious destruction of rainforests for palm oil, soy, meat and dairy by multinational corporations is deeply linked to the spread of infectious zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola. These diseases are becoming…

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Creatives for Cool Creatures

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

Bio: Dr Evan Allen Dr. Evan Allen, the author of Oversaturated, believes that a pervasive distortion of the truth ignores decades of established research and has led millions of people to embrace a diet high in saturated fat. Furthermore that this diet results in millions of people suffering the consequences of diabetes, dementia and heart disease…

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Palm Oil & Human Health Hazards

Video: Slowing deforestation is the key to preventing the next pandemic – but what does that cost?

Les Kaufman, Boston University In a recent journal article, a team of biologists, medical scientists, environmental scientists and conservationists proposed a number of measures to reduce the likelihood of future pandemics, many of which originate with wild animals such as bats. They argue that spending billions of dollars per year – a fraction of the…

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Palm Oil, Greenwashing, Corruption & Consumer Manipulation

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry found that the human health impacts of palm oil are downplayed or greenwashed by the industry

Read more
WHO Bulletin on Palm Oil: Air Pollution and Health
WHO Bulletin Report: Greenwashing and lobbying by the RSPO and RSPO members
WHO Bulletin Report: Greenwashing and lobbying by the RSPO and RSPO members
WHO Bulletin Report: Greenwashing and lobbying by the RSPO and RSPO members

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Reasons to be Hopeful

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Don’t lose hope. For every shadow there is light shining as well. Here are some solutions

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Further reading

Further reading on palm oil ecocide, greenwashing and deceptive marketing

  1. A Brief History of Consumer Culture, Dr. Kerryn Higgs, The MIT Press Reader. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/a-brief-history-of-consumer-culture/
  2. A Deluge of Double-Speak (2017), Jason Bagley. Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/blog/a-deluge-of-doublespeak/
  3. Aggarwal, P. (2011). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. https://www.worldwidejournals.com/indian-journal-of-applied-research-(IJAR)/article/greenwashing-the-darker-side-of-csr/MzMxMQ==/?is=1
  4. Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia, (2022). Ward Berenschot, et. al., Geoforum, Volume 131, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.03.002
  5. Armour, C. (2021). Green Clean. Company Director Magazine. https://www.aicd.com.au/regulatory-compliance/regulations/investigation/green-clean.html
  6. Balanced Growth (2020), In: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham
  7. Berenschot, W., Hospes, O., & Afrizal, A. (2023). Unequal access to justice: An evaluation of RSPO’s capacity to resolve palm oil conflicts in Indonesia. Agriculture and Human Values, 40, 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10360-z
  8. Carlson, K. M., Heilmayr, R., Gibbs, H. K., Noojipady, P., et al. (2018). Effect of oil palm sustainability certification on deforestation and fire in Indonesia. PNAS, 115(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704728114
  9. Cazzolla Gatti, R., Liang, J., Velichevskaya, A., & Zhou, M. (2018). Sustainable palm oil may not be so sustainable. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 48-51. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30359800/
  10. Changing Times Media. (2019). Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is ‘greenwashing’ labelled products, environmental investigation agency says. Changing Times Media. https://changingtimes.media/2019/11/03/roundtable-on-sustainable-palm-oil-is-greenwashing-labelled-products-environmental-protection-agency-says/
  11. Client Earth: The Greenwashing Files. https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/
  12. Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry (2019). World Development, Volume 121, September 2019, Pages 218-228. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v121y2019icp218-228.html
  13. Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (2020). Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., Smith, T. E. L. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
  14. Cosimo, L. H. E., Masiero, M., Mammadova, A., & Pettenella, D. (2024). Voluntary sustainability standards to cope with the new European Union regulation on deforestation-free products: A gap analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 164, 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2024.103235
  15. Dalton, J. (2018). No such thing as sustainable palm oil – ‘certified’ can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html
  16. Davis, S. J., Alexander, K., Moreno-Cruz, J., et al. (2023). Food without agriculture. Nature Sustainability. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2
  17. EIA International. (2022). Will palm oil watchdog rid itself of deforestation or continue to pretend its products are sustainable? EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/will-palm-oil-watchdog-rid-itself-of-deforestation-or-continue-to-pretend-its-products-are-sustainable/
  18. Environmental Investigation Agency. (2019). Palm oil watchdog’s sustainability guarantee is still a destructive con. EIA International. https://eia-international.org/news/palm-oil-watchdogs-sustainability-guarantee-is-still-a-destructive-con/
  19. Federal Trade Commission. (n.d.). Green Guides. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/truth-advertising/green-guides
  20. Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job (2019). Rainforest Action Network. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
  1. Friends of the Earth International. (2018). RSPO: 14 years of failure to eliminate violence and destruction from the industrial palm oil sector. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/rspo-14-years-of-failure-to-eliminate-violence-and-destruction-from-the-industrial-palm-oil-sector/
  2. Lang, Chris and REDD Monitor. Sustainable palm oil? RSPO’s greenwashing and fraudulent audits exposed. The Ecologist. https://theecologist.org/2015/nov/19/sustainable-palm-oil-rspos-greenwashing-and-fraudulent-audits-exposed
  3. Gatti, L., Pizzetti, M., & Seele, P. (2021). Green lies and their effect on intention to invest. Journal of Business Research, 127, 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.01.028
  4. Global Witness. (2023). Amazon palm: Ecocide and human rights abuses. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/amazon-palm/
  5. Global Witness. (2021). The True Price of Palm Oil. Global Witness. https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/true-price-palm-oil/
  6. Grain. (2021). Ten reasons why certification should not be promoted in the EU anti-deforestation regulation. Grain. https://grain.org/en/article/6856-ten-reasons-why-certification-should-not-be-promoted-in-the-eu-anti-deforestation-regulation
  7. Green Clean (2021). Armour, C. Company Director Magazine.
  8. Green marketing and the Australian Consumer Law (2011). Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Green%20marketing%20and%20the%20ACL.pdf
  9. Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics (2011). Helan, A. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/jul/08/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
  10. Greenwashing: definition and examples. Selectra https://climate.selectra.com/en/environment/greenwashing#:~:text=Greenwashing%20is%20the%20practice%20of,its%20activities%20pollute%20the%20environment.
  11. Greenwashing of the Palm Oil Industry (2007). Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2007/11/greenwashing-the-palm-oil-industry/
  12. Group Challenges Rainforest Alliance Earth-Friendly Seal of Approval (2015). Truth in Advertising. https://www.truthinadvertising.org/group-challenges-rainforest-alliance-earth-friendly-seal-of-approval
  13. Helan, A. (2011). Greenwash and spin: palm oil lobby targets its critics. Ecologist: Informed by Nature. https://theecologist.org/2011/feb/15/greenwash-and-spin-palm-oil-lobby-targets-its-critics
  14. Hewlett Packard. (2021). What is Greenwashing and How to Tell Which Companies are Truly Environmentally Responsible. Hewlett Packard. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-greenwashing-environmentally-responsible-companies
  15. Holzner, A., Rameli, N. I. A. M., Ruppert, N., & Widdig, A. (2024). Agricultural habitat use affects infant survivorship in an endangered macaque species. Current Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38194972/
  16. How Cause-washing Deceives Consumers (2021). Truth in Advertising. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
  17. International Labour Organization. (2020). Forced labor in the palm oil industry. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/topics/forced-labour-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking
  18. Jauernig, J., Uhl, M., & Valentinov, V. (2021). The ethics of corporate hypocrisy: An experimental approach. Futures, 129, 102757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102757
  19. Kirby, D. (2015). Sustainable Palm Oil? Who Knows, Thanks to Derelict Auditors. Take Part. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sustainable-palm-oil-knows-thanks-derelict-auditors-200643980.html
  20. Li, T. M., & Semedi, P. (2021). Plantation life: Corporate occupation in Indonesia’s oil palm zone. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/plantation-life
  21. Liu, F. H. M., Ganesan, V., & Smith, T. E. L. (2020). Contrasting communications of sustainability science in the media coverage of palm oil agriculture on tropical peatlands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Environmental Science & Policy, 114. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343772443_Contrasting_communications_of_sustainability_science_in_the_media_coverage_of_palm_oil_agriculture_on_tropical_peatlands_in_Indonesia_Malaysia_and_Singapore
  1. Meemken, E. M., Barrett, C. B., Michelson, H. C., et al. (2021). Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains. Nature Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00299-2
  2. Miles, T. (2019). Study in WHO journal likens palm oil lobbying to tobacco and alcohol industries. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN1P21ZR/
  3. Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069
  4. Oppong-Tawiah D, Webster J. Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter. Sustainability. 2023; 15(8):6683. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6683
  5. Pabon, J. (2024). The great greenwashing: How brands, governments, and influencers are lying to you. Anansi International. https://www.vitalsource.com/products/the-great-greenwashing-john-pabon-v9781487012878
  6. Podnar, K., & Golob, U. (2024). Brands and activism: Ecosystem and paradoxes. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 95–107. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41262-024-00355-y
  7. Rainforest Action Network. (2019). Fifteen environmental NGOs demand that sustainable palm oil watchdog does its job. RAN. https://www.ran.org/press-releases/fifteen-environmental-ngos-demand-that-sustainable-palm-oil-watchdog-does-its-job/
  8. Renner, A., Zellweger, C., & Skinner, B. (2021). ‘Is there such a thing as sustainable palm oil? Satellite images show protected rainforest on fire’. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/palm-oil-boom-threatens-protected-rainforest-in-indonesia-ld.1625490
  9. Saager, E. S., Iwamura, T., Jucker, T., & Murray, K. A. (2023). Deforestation for oil palm increases microclimate suitability for the development of the disease vector Aedes albopictus. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 9514. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35452-6
  10. Southey, F. (2021). What do Millennials think of palm oil? Nestlé investigates. Food Navigator. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2021/08/12/What-do-Millennials-think-of-palm-oil-Nestle-investigates
  11. Transparency International. (2023). Transparency international report: Corruption and corporate capture in Indonesia’s top 50 palm oil companies. Transparency International. https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/05/14/transparency-international-report-corruption-and-corporate-capture-in-indonesias-top-50-palm-oil-companies/
  12. Truth in Advertising. (2022). Companies accused of greenwashing. https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/
  13. Truth in Advertising. (n.d.). How causewashing deceives consumers. https://truthinadvertising.org/resource/how-causewashing-deceives-consumers/
  14. Tybout, A. M., & Calkins, T. (Eds.). (2019). Kellogg on Branding in a Hyper-Connected World. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. https://www.wiley.com/en-au/Kellogg+on+Branding+in+a+Hyper-Connected+World-p-9781119533184
  15. Wicke, J. (2019). Sustainable palm oil or certified dispossession? NGOs within scalar struggles over the RSPO private governance standard. Bioeconomy & Inequalities: Working Paper No. 8. https://www.bioinequalities.uni-jena.de/sozbemedia/WorkingPaper8.pdf
  16. World Health Organisation. (2019). The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organisation Bulletin, 97, 118-128. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30728618/
  17. World Rainforest Movement. (2021, November 22). Why the RSPO facilitates land grabs for palm oil. https://wrm.org.uy/articles-from-the-wrm-bulletin/section1/why-the-rspo-facilitates-land-grabs-for-palm-oil/
  18. Zuckerman, J. (2021). The Time Has Come to Rein In the Global Scourge of Palm Oil. Yale Environment 360, Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-time-has-come-to-rein-in-the-global-scourge-of-palm-oil

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About Me

Hi, I’m Palm Oil Detective’s Editor in Chief. Palm Oil Detectives is partly a consumer website about palm oil in products and partly an online community for writers, artists and musicians to showcase their work and express their love for endangered species. I have a strong voice for creatures great and small threatened by deforestation. With our collective power we can shift the greed of the retail industry and influence big palm oil to stop cutting down forests. Be bold! Be courageous! Join me and stand up for the animals with your art and your supermarket choices!

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