First of all I’d like to point out that I eat meat, I take car rides and too many times automatically buy the easy options instead of thinking a little about them first. So for anyone who thinks this post might be a bit hypocritical, then feel free. But to me, the consumption of palm oil is a massive issue that has more consequences to it than many people may know.
Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil just like sunflower or rapeseed oil, that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees. Originally they were only found in West and South West of Africa but have since been introduced to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Dr Emma Keller from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) told Newsround in April that, “Palm oil is in close to half of the products we buy in the supermarkets – in everything from shampoos and soaps, to pizzas and biscuits. It’s everywhere.”
This in itself isn’t a problem. That is until you factor in the fact that us humans are greedy and when it comes to our planet never seem to know when to stop.
We have actually started cutting down forests to make way to plant oil palm trees contributing the massive deforestation already occurring throughout the planet. People are even illegal burning down large areas of forest to make way for palm trees. This deforestation then has further major issues.
Firstly, the obvious. We need trees to take in the carbon dioxide in the air and convert it to oxygen via photosynthesis. The carbon dioxide that we are putting more of into our atmosphere with our constant consumption of fossil fuels. With the increased carbon dioxide levels we have started to see the effects, such as global warming melting the ice caps and taking away habitat from artic species.
Another major issue in cutting down all these forests is that we are taking away habitats for a lot of animals. The animal you may have heard most about is the orangutans, which are often being shown on social media, the news, and charity sites as major sufferers of deforestation. Rhinos, elephants and tigers are all other animals which have been affected majorly, all three animals already at extremely low levels of population. If we continue the way we are consuming the Earths products without any thought of the environment, very soon you will live in a world where these animals do not exist.
For all the negatives, there are positives. Iceland, the uk supermarket, has said they will stop using palm oil in their own branded products by the end of the year. They are the first of major supermarkets to do so but it only takes one person to get it started.
You too can make a difference, and it only takes little things.
Boycott palm. It is hard, palm oil is in a majority of products these days, especially those delicious treats we all love but just think of the difference you are making every time you don’t buy a malteser packet. Sometimes the palm isn’t always called palm oil in products so make sure you check carefully before buying things such as sweets and chocolate where it is often palm fat or palm kernel oil.
And if you are thinking to yourself that it doesn’t matter what you do, you are very wrong. If every single person who ever thought ‘me not doing it won’t make a difference’ actually did the thing, it would make a HUGE impact! Together we can ensure that the generations that come after us, our children and their children and their children and their children, stand a fighting chance to live on a healthy planet for as long as possible. The planet is not past saving, so don’t give up just yet.
-E xoxo
Evmb Creatives 