Sustainable Palm Oil

The orangutan, one of the world’s great apes, resides on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The forests of these islands are being destroyed in order to create palm oil plantations. Palm oil is in high demand due to its uses as a biofuel and as a vegetable oil. The palm oil industry is a major threat to the survival of the critically endangered orangutans, due to loss of habitat. This leads to illegal poaching since the orangutans are viewed as pests, leaving many young infants orphaned and alone. There are rescue groups that rehabilitate these great apes, but more must be done in order to prevent the extinction of this rapidly declining species. Sustainable palm oil options need to be researched and utilized and there should

The flyer continues by depicting the situation in which many animal species native to Malaysia and Indonesia are forced out of their habitats due to the deforestation efforts to make way for palm oil trees. This deforestation drives species to the edge of extinction. Palm oil is used in many edible goods such as candies and personal care products. In order to diminish this exhaustive deforestation, the reader, identified as a "consumer conservationist" is encouraged to only purchase products that use 100% certified sustainable palm oil by purchasing their sweets from a list of brands listed in the

A major source of controversy when it comes to biodiesel and other biofuels such as ethanol is what ingredient are used to make the fuel. When oils from crops are used, a number of problems can arise. For instance, biodiesel and other biofuels are often touted as environmentally friendly since they are typically made from plants, which suck the global warming gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow. However, the land may be damaged in order to grow these crops as demand for biofuels grow for example, in Indonesia, biodiesel may be causing deforestation, as native forests are destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. The chemicals from agricultural fertilizers and pesticides may also upset ecosystems.

Habit loss has been one of the most prominent issues regarding the animal kingdom, and now it seems like the human race is trying to rid our earth of the decreasing amount of flora in certain areas. In Indonesia rain forests are being torn apart to make way for palm oil plantations. Although palm oil is used in packages foods and cosmetics, the Sumatrans elephants and orangutan are suffering from the habitats loss. (Corwin, 8)

In both past and present economic endeavors situations have occurred by manufacturers which have caused harm to the environment. As discussed by Commoner “oil is taken from the

Palm oil is a lucrative business that generates billions of dollars a year. It is

Palm oil is a vegetable oil high in saturated fats extracted from the palm fruit, the palm tree is a native plant to West Africa then was imported into South East Asia in the mid-19th century. It is one of the most popular edible oils and is being used in approximately 50% of products currently in the supermarkets of Australia including cosmetics, toiletries and food. Malaysia and Indonesia grows around 87% of palm oil while Australia imports about 130,000 tonnes of palm oil every year. Due to the oil plantations being in countries where there

Agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation because as human population grows the need for agricultural products increases. Unfortunately, the land used for cultivation results in the displacement of tree reliant animals such as the orangutan. “Without forests, orangutans cannot survive” (Galdikas). Palm oil is produced from trees grown in large plantations in regions where tropical rainforests once existed. The orangutans’ way of life revolves around the existence of trees, they nest in trees, drink water out of holes, and eat their fruit. Orangutans also

Palm oil harvest often leads to deforestation of the rainforests, and raises many ethical concerns from the public, (Levitt, 2015).

“Between 2000 and 2013, 2.3 Million square kilometers (890,000 square miles) of forest around the world were cut down.” We are slowly precipitating an Earth that will fail in providing resources. To take in consideration that only 6.2 million square kilometers of forest remains, from the original 16 million, shows how consumers encourage deforestation and in the matter of 13 years, were able to destroy 12.5% of nature. One of the ways Sanders exposes these corporations by stating,“The scale of devastation caused by human activity is unprecedented, and it is accelerating, spurred on by a global system of nation-states battling for advantage, and by an economic system addicted to growth and waste. So the work of conservation becomes ever more urgent” (Sanders 212).

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a thick brown liquid with fine suspended solids at pH between 4 and 5 and highly contaminating wastewater directly and indirectly contaminates the environment. The chemical properties of POME differ widely through the year because of mill operations and seasonal cropping. Atmospheric methane concentration increased by 30% in the last 25 years. Net carbon emission from POME is approximately 1.4 x 106 tons per year. Assuming a mean annual increase of 29% as experienced from 1990 to 2004, the estimated CH4 gas emission may be 0.502 x 106 tons in the year 2020. Certified emission reduction (CER) can be attained by using methane gas as a renewable energy. At high organic loadings or at natural environment temperatures,

Since Palm oil is most widely used within the European region, the aforementioned companies, have ensured that with the RSPO formation, they will push for a more sustainable palm oil. But the real impacts are felt in the regions where palm oil is produced and these are developing counties that do not have stringent measures to deal with issues of unsustainable palm oil. In Asia the process has been very slow. The public have had no interest in environmental issues. Consumers are very reluctant and are not willing to pay more for sustainable

In the last two decades, palm oil has been one of the most imported goods around the world. In fact, the top industries are located in Sumatra, Indonesia, holding up to 90% of the world’s exported palm oil. Palm oil comes from the palm fruit of the African oil palm trees, and is grown mainly in the rainforest area. Unfortunately, the actions taken to grow these trees are causing horrible impacts to the world’s environment, such as deforestation, pollution, and increased greenhouse-gas emissions. Between 1985 and 2011, more than 30 million acres of the Sumatran forest disappeared because of the involvement of palm oil. Because of these environmental impacts, it’s leading to animal cruelty, especially for the Sumatran tiger. The deforestation of palm oil is driving Sumatran tigers toward extinction, because of the endangered wildlife environment, hazardous plantations, and starvation. According to One Green Planet, at least 80% of the Sumatran wildlife habitat is lost from the production of palm oil leading to the extinction of the Sumatran tigers. In 2017, it has been recorded that their are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers that exist (How Palm Oil Impacts the Sumatran Tiger).

Economically, both options would be sustainable and benefit the producers and consumers of palm oil. Proposal one would result in producing companies receiving less money and therefore going out of business relieving kids from child labour. This would also be a consequence of companies having to spend money to ensure they meet the conditions required by this strategy. Related to the economy, this issue has very little disadvantages, however it could force people in Australia to spend more money to buy products without palm oil. If workers in developing countries were to insist on their government ensuring fair working conditions and wages people would get paid more for working in the plantations.

Many including Rothkopf, Grunwalf, and Ruiz-Marrero claim that biofuel is not the solution but rather will become a problem. They claim that if biofuel was produced in large quantity then agriculture would convert from food to fuel. According to the World Bank, over seventy five percent of the rises in food prices is directly caused by biofuel. Indonesia is the leading producer of palm oil, a major biofuel. In order to increase productivity, the people destroyed thousands of trees to plant palm tree. The destruction led to an increase in carbon production. Indonesia moved from the 21st most carbon producer to the third. Another major producer of biofuel is Brazil. If Brazilian farmers were to deforest the Amazon rainforest, it could cause a fifty percent increase in global warming. Through the world, deforestation accounts for over twenty percent of carbon emission. A gallon of biofuel requires the same amount of grain as a person would eat in a year. The switch from food to fuel would cause a worldwide food shortage and an increase in world hunger.