Sustainable Palm Oil
Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil derived from the palm fruit grown throughout Africa, Asia,
North America, and South America. It can be found in the majority of products sold within
your local grocery store [upper right circle] including from major producers like Kellogg’s
[Tony the Tiger]. The palm oil production process involves mass deforestation primarily
done by burning forests [collage background] to reveal the natural peat flooring ideal for
palm tree growth. As a result of the deforestation, orangutan and Sumatran tigers are
displaces, starved, and in most cases killed [first circle]. Workers in the industry lose most
basic rights including children who are forced into working on certain palm oil plantations
[second circle]. Efforts have been made through RSPO to create a standard for sustainable
palm oil production practices, but they ended up becoming unreliable and ultimately
discredited as regulators [third circle].
Jeremy Washington
September 6, 2014
Sustainability Problems
“Who Cares?” Post
Sustainable Palm Oil
Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil on Earth (World Wildlife Fund). Palm oil
production continues to have negative consequences that not only affect the environment and
economy, but also the surrounding populations. While those affected can be found across
Asia, Africa, and South America, the following analysis will focus specifically on Indonesia and
Malaysia. First, to develop palm oil plantations, corporations use unsustainable tactics such
as mass deforestation. Consequences of such practices include: habitat degradation, climate
change, animal cruelty, and indigenous rights abuses (saynotopalmoil.com). Next, the
stakeholders involved are local populations and officials, corporations who consume palm oil,
and consumers who support those corporations. Some of the major corporations who use
palm oil in their production process are Kellogg’s, General Mills, L’Oreal, McDonald’s, and
Dunkin Donuts, just to name a few (ucsusa.org). Lastly, sustainable palm oil production is a
plausible solution being implemented throughout the world thanks to a select few major
brands fighting against deforestation and human injustices.
The consequences of the palm oil production process can be felt across the world.
Communities surrounding palm oil plantations suffer the worst. In Malaysia climate change is
a major issue and mass deforestation by burning forest is a major contributor to CO2
emissions (Law & Policy). “When tropical forests are cleared to make way for oil palm
plantations, carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, the gas that is the
leading cause of global warming; tropical deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of total
global warming emissions.” (UCS 2013). In a 2013 presentation by the National Hydraulic
Research Institute of Malaysia they address the impacts of Climate change on Malaysia. A few
of these impacts include: rising sea level, water quantity, and water quality (NAHRIM).
Malaysia suffers the negative environmental externalities of the main stakeholder: the
producers.
Now, looking towards Indonesia to provide an inside on the stakeholders (Law &
Policy). Indonesia’s expected palm oil production in 2013 was 31,000,000 metric tons (US
Department of Agriculture). This accounts for 11% of Indonesia’s export earnings. The
Indonesian economy and officials rely heavily on the increasing growth of the palm oil market
a textbook example of the tradeoff between economy and environment, ecology, and
sustainability. As consumers we also face a similar tradeoff on a micro scale. Palm oil has
been integrated into our everyday lives, from the foods we eat to the cosmetic products we
use. To avoid palm oil all together would call for most consumers to change their diets and
everyday lives quite drastically. The last stakeholders involved in the growing economic
system known as the palm oil market are the local environments. Not only are children
employed or forced to work at palm oil plantations, orangutan and Sumatran tigers have
suffered great decreases in population size. The conflicting stakeholders in this growing
market seem to each face the same tradeoffs willingly or unwillingly.
So, is there a solution to the unsustainable practices used in palm oil production? In
2004 the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) offered one (saynotopalmoil.com). The
RSPO brought together major stakeholders ranging from plantation owners to NGOs fighting
for animal rights to create a system of regulations in an effort to promote “sustainable” palm
oil. Sustainable palm oil is a plausible process, it simply comes down to the most cost effective
option for industries. Eventually, the RSPO was discredited by environmentalist as a
greenwashing scheme that wasn’t effectively enforcing sustainable practices. The RSPO still
exists today, but without credibility it makes the fight against unsustainable palm oil even
more difficult to tackle. This is one case of a solution that could not sustain the problem it
addressed. Now through grassroots campaigns and protests major industries such as
Kellogg’s and Krispy Kreme have releases statements promising to only use sustainable palm
oil in their products.
Bibliography
Peer Reviewed:
MCCARTHY, J. and ZEN, Z. (2010), Regulating the Oil Palm Boom: Assessing the Effectiveness of
Environmental Governance Approaches to Agro-industrial Pollution in Indonesia. Law & Policy, 32: 153–
179.
Other Sources:
"Palm Oil Scorecard: Ranking America's Biggest Brands on Their Commitment to Deforestation-Free... |
UCSUSA." Union of Concerned Scientists. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2014.
Malaysia. National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia. Ministry of Natural Resources &
Environment. By Ahmad Jamalluddin B. General, National Hydraulic Research Institute Of Malaysia, and
Ministry Of Natural Resources & Environment. N.p., 22 Oct. 2013. Web. 8 Sept. 2014.
"Palm Oil Production in Indonesia." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Aug. 2014. Web. 08 Sept.
2014.
"Palm Oil." In Indonesia. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.indonesia-investments.com/doingbusiness/commodities/palm-oil/item166> 08 Sept. 2014.
"Palm Oil." Saynotopalmoil.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php>.
"2013 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard." World Wildlife Fund. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/palm_oil/solutions/responsible_purchasing/
palm_oil_buyers_scorecard_2013/>.