Info to this contribution: This contribution does not have the claim to clarify 100% completely and in detail about palm oil. The impetus was my travel experiences in Sumatra and my goal is to make the reader aware of this topic and to generate interest to deal with the issue in more detail.
The fact that palm oil is not good for the environment, but is contained in many foods, is I think as well as everyone aware. I must honestly admit that until now I have not been very active in buying food where palm oil is contained. The only place where I am aware of it is in a very large, well-known brand of chocolate spread.
Why is palm oil used as an ingredient in this chocolate spread, for example? According to their homepage, the palm oil makes the chocolate spread still spreadable and creamy in consistency even at room temperature because it oxidizes less quickly than other oils.
When visiting Sumatra, there is no way to avoid the topic of palm oil. On our way from Medan to Bukit Lawang we passed miles of palm oil plantations - it was unbelievable to see the size of the plantations and how much it shapes the landscape of Sumatra.
For this reason, I wanted to write my own article on this topic. Perhaps you are better informed - I was not aware of how many different ways the cultivation of palm oil affects our environment. Therefore, I have summarized my experiences from Sumatra together with some online research.
Our driver in Sumatra told us that many years ago rubber trees grew in these areas. Gradually, international corporations have bought up these lands and converted them into palm oil plantations. Year by year there are more and more of these palm oil plantations.
The palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the oil palm. With enough water, the fruits grow extremely fast and can be harvested every few weeks. This makes these plants very efficient harvesters for the companies - a high and steady yield on a comparatively small area.
The cultivation and harvesting of palm oil is a blessing for the inhabitants solely in a short term/constrained perspective, as these plantations generate many jobs.
In many respects, however, these plantations are very bad for the land and its inhabitants.
The palm oil plant requires an above-average amount of water. Due to the amount of plants, it would take steady long, intense downpours to provide them with the water they need - no land can provide that for all months of the year. One resident told us that once it doesn't rain for 2 weeks straight, it results in households in the area suffering from water shortages.
Due to the increasing consumption, more and more rainforests are being cut down or cleared. Through these monocultures of palm oil plants, the biodiversity is equal to 0 and it robs many native animals of their habitat.
Often peat forests are affected by deforestation or are drained to ensure the water needs of palm oil plantations. However, these peat forests are true masters as "carbon reservoirs". Thus, the destruction of these peat forests is a disaster for our environment.
What I did not know, but would like to share with you, if you have not yet dealt with the issue in detail and would like to pay more attention to your own consumption habits in the future:
Palm oil is not only found in food, but also, for example, in various cosmetic products and detergents - so here, too, you should pay attention to the ingredients when buying.
Coconut oil is generally gaining more and more importance - in terms of the environment, however, this is also not a good alternative to palm oil, as the coconut palm requires a lot of land for comparatively little yield - this means that a lot of forest has to be cut down in the growing countries in order to cultivate the plants, which in turn is also bad for the environment.
The production of which oil is now the least polluting, taking all factors into account, has not quite emerged for me. There are also voices that say that palm oil production should not be demonized under certain conditions, because the plant requires high yields on comparatively little land compared to other plants (such as the coconut palm mentioned above).
The majority, however, believes that domestically grown oils such as sunflower or rapeseed oil are a far more environmentally friendly option - they have shorter transport distances and the cultivation of the fruits has no impact of such magnitude.
For me, the importance of palm oil also became clear once again in a supermarket on Sumatra. On orientation signs, which normally show the different product groups (fruit, vegetables, pasta, etc.), there was a sign with "Palm Oil Modern Snack".
I think it's the same with many things in life - even if you have certain information, you don't implement everything in the best possible way in everyday life. However, if you then see the negative consequences of a certain thing with your own eyes, talk to those affected and experience the whole thing up close, then you get a completely different attitude to it.
I for my part have resolved in the future when shopping to give attention to buy no more palm oil products. Whether it works or whether or how quickly I will reach my limits remains to be seen.
Note about the video: I know it's a bit monotonous, but I felt it was important to show you the vastness of these plantations!
Have you found good palm oil alternatives for well-known items such as chocolate cream? I look forward to your comments!
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