Currently, one third of all produced vegetable oil is palm. It is used in the production of food, cosmetics, household chemicals, and biofuels. Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm. And since its popularity is only gaining momentum, the total area of palm plantations is also growing. But because of this, not only forests are disappearing, but also animal species.
The birthplace of the oil palm is Africa. But the bulk of palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia. It was here that huge palm plantations were created due to the high demand for oil. They are planted in rows of palm trees and a nearby plant for the primary processing of the harvested crop. Local residents work on the plantations, for whom this work is most often almost the only salvation in the conditions of the economic crisis in the countries.
Palm oil has been traded since the days of the pharaohs - more than five thousand years ago. But only since 2015, palm oil has outpaced the production of all others, including sunflower oil. And in 2017, almost half of all palm oil purchased by the European Union went to the production of biodiesel for cars. India consumes the most palm oil, followed by Indonesia, the EU and China.
But the price of such an increase in oil consumption is high: in Indonesia and Malaysia, forests for palm plantations are rapidly being destroyed - they are simply burned. More than half of the forest growing there has already been destroyed on the island of Kalimantan. Due to changes in the ecosystem, orangutans are on the verge of complete extinction - rehabilitation centers are being created to save them. And this situation is observed not only on the island of Kalimantan. On the island of Sumatra, palm oil producers have evicted and razed several villages to the ground.
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Of course, large palm oil companies have already announced that they will not buy oil from unverified producers. But in fact, this did not affect the environmental problem in any way. On the contrary, now they plan to grow the oil palm in Africa. Local scientists are concerned about this trend - the territory of the Gabon National Park may be under threat. But environmental organizations believe that the situation can be improved, and are already gradually trying to renew forests, including in Kalimantan.
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What Palm Oil Really Is and How Much Harm Does It Do
Currently, one third of all produced vegetable oil is palm. It is used in the production of food, cosmetics, household chemicals, and biofuels. Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm. And since its popularity is only gaining momentum, the total area of palm plantations is also growing. But because of this, not only forests are disappearing, but also animal species.
The birthplace of the oil palm is Africa. But the bulk of palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia. It was here that huge palm plantations were created due to the high demand for oil. They are planted in rows of palm trees and a nearby plant for the primary processing of the harvested crop. Local residents work on the plantations, for whom this work is most often almost the only salvation in the conditions of the economic crisis in the countries.
Palm oil has been traded since the days of the pharaohs - more than five thousand years ago. But only since 2015, palm oil has outpaced the production of all others, including sunflower oil. And in 2017, almost half of all palm oil purchased by the European Union went to the production of biodiesel for cars. India consumes the most palm oil, followed by Indonesia, the EU and China.
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But the price of such an increase in oil consumption is high: in Indonesia and Malaysia, forests for palm plantations are rapidly being destroyed - they are simply burned. More than half of the forest growing there has already been destroyed on the island of Kalimantan. Due to changes in the ecosystem, orangutans are on the verge of complete extinction - rehabilitation centers are being created to save them. And this situation is observed not only on the island of Kalimantan. On the island of Sumatra, palm oil producers have evicted and razed several villages to the ground.
Of course, large palm oil companies have already announced that they will not buy oil from unverified producers. But in fact, this did not affect the environmental problem in any way. On the contrary, now they plan to grow the oil palm in Africa. Local scientists are concerned about this trend - the territory of the Gabon National Park may be under threat. But environmental organizations believe that the situation can be improved, and are already gradually trying to renew forests, including in Kalimantan.
It is also now forbidden to burn "obsolete" palm trees before replanting the site with new ones. Trees must be cut down and only after seven years new palms can be planted on such land. However, not all manufacturers adhere to such rules. Therefore, the problem is further complicated by the fact that no one knows for sure how many palm oil producers adhere to established rules for growing palm trees, and which continue to violate them.
In the environmental confrontation between producers and green activists, it went so far that producers asked the government to ban the organization from operating in Indonesia - as India did. Whether new and more environmentally oriented standards will be applied to the technologies of growing and producing palm oil - time will tell.
