About Palm Oil
Vast areas of pristine rainforest is slashed and burned each year in order to make way for oil palm plantations. Many orangutans and other wildlife are killed in the process, so that this one vegetable oil can be used in many of our everyday foods and products. This large-scale deforestation is pushing orangutans to extinction, along with many other native species of Borneo and Sumatra. | JUMP TO:
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Palm oil is an extremely popular vegetable oil amongst manufacturers. It is used in over 50% of products, including: baked goods, confectionery, cosmetics, body products and cleaning agents. But in many countries, there is no law on the mandatory labelling of palm oil. Consequently, companies will usually hide palm oil under the name of 'vegetable oil', or over 170 other names! (See the list of the most common 30 names below).
One argument is that we need palm oil in today's society, and that palm oil is a key ingredient in many foods and body products. But what about 30 years ago? Back then, palm oil wasn't use is nearly as many products as today (as seen in the graphs found on the 'Images' page), in fact, it was almost non-existant in much of the Western-world. So why does there need to be such a high demand for it in the modern world? We don't need palm oil. There a many alternatives to palm oil, but unfortunately none as cheap and efficient, which is why companies are reluctant to switch.
Another alternative option for companies is 'sustainable palm oil'. The only issue with sustainable palm oil is that currently, this 'eco-friendly' vegetable oil is sourced through RSPO, an organisation which is considered unreliable and untrustworthy by many (read the segment below for more information).
However; even if sustainable palm oil was proven to actually be 'sustainable', why wouldn't all companies use it? Consider two chocolate bars. They both contain palm oil. One uses palm oil sourced from a sustainable plantation, the other uses palm oil from plantations associated with animal genocide and catastrophic deforestation. Which one would you buy? The answer may be obvious to you, but for the global corporate giants of this world, it's a different story.
One argument is that we need palm oil in today's society, and that palm oil is a key ingredient in many foods and body products. But what about 30 years ago? Back then, palm oil wasn't use is nearly as many products as today (as seen in the graphs found on the 'Images' page), in fact, it was almost non-existant in much of the Western-world. So why does there need to be such a high demand for it in the modern world? We don't need palm oil. There a many alternatives to palm oil, but unfortunately none as cheap and efficient, which is why companies are reluctant to switch.
Another alternative option for companies is 'sustainable palm oil'. The only issue with sustainable palm oil is that currently, this 'eco-friendly' vegetable oil is sourced through RSPO, an organisation which is considered unreliable and untrustworthy by many (read the segment below for more information).
However; even if sustainable palm oil was proven to actually be 'sustainable', why wouldn't all companies use it? Consider two chocolate bars. They both contain palm oil. One uses palm oil sourced from a sustainable plantation, the other uses palm oil from plantations associated with animal genocide and catastrophic deforestation. Which one would you buy? The answer may be obvious to you, but for the global corporate giants of this world, it's a different story.
Because palm oil isn't labelled in many countries, consumers are blinded to the fact that many of the products they are buying contribute to this unprecedented disaster. One of the lists below consists of well-known products that contain crude palm oil as well as a list of products that contain 'sustainable' palm oil. That way you can have the choice whether to buy them or not.
Orangutan numbers are plummeting at a dangerously fast rate, all for our sugary, prepackaged snack foods and fragrant, chemical-filled soaps and shampoos.
We have a choice, orangutans do not.
Orangutan numbers are plummeting at a dangerously fast rate, all for our sugary, prepackaged snack foods and fragrant, chemical-filled soaps and shampoos.
We have a choice, orangutans do not.
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RSPO - Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
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- The most common name palm oil is hidden under is 'vegetable oil'. Almost all Asian products or products made in Asia that have 'vegetable oil' written on the label means that it is palm oil.
- Most pre-packaged snack foods made by well known, large corporate-giants (Nestle, Unilever etc) contain palm oil.
- If a product's saturated fat content is over 40% of it's total fat content, it will almost always have palm oil in it.
- Ingredients with the word 'palm' in them are palm oil or are derived from the oil palm fruit (as shown in the ingredient list below).
- Nearly all home-brand/no-name pasties and confectionery will contain palm oil (Coles/Safeway donuts, muffins, cakes, chocolate, confectionery etc).
- If you are not sure whether a product contains palm oil, either type the product name into google along with 'palm oil' and see the search results, or call the company and ask if they use palm oil.
- To avoid palm oil, look out for products that contain alternative vegetable oils, such as 100% sunflower oil, corn oil or canola oil. However, please note that Soybean oil is often associated with the destruction of rainforest in Brazil.
IMPORTANT:
Just because a product says it is "Organic" or "Cruelty-Free" does not mean it doesn't contain palm oil. In fact, most natural/organic products do contain palm oil - because palm oil is a very much a natural ingredient. It's the way it is produced that is far from natural, which is something many companies fail to realise.
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-Vegetable Fat -Sodium Laureth Sulfate (in almost everything that foams) ^ -Sodium Lauryl Sulfate ^ -Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS or NaDS) ^ -Palm Kernel# -Palm Oil Kernel # -Palm Fruit Oil # -Palmate # -Palmitate # -Palmolein # -Glyceryl Stearate # -Stearic Acid # -Elaeis Guineensis # -Palmitic Acid # -Palm Stearine # -Palmitoyl oxostearamide # -Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-3 # -Steareth -2 * -Steareth -20 * -Sodium Kernelate # -Sodium Palm Kernelate # -Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate * -Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate ^ -Hyrated Palm Glycerides # -Sodium Isostearoyl Lactylaye ^ -Cetyl Palmitate # -Octyl Palmitate # -Cetyl Alcohol ^ -Palmityl Alchohol # |
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EXAMPLES OF HOW TO DETECT PALM OIL ON A LABEL:
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Trident - Cheese Rice Crackers
Palm oil ingredient(s): Palm Oil
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Arnott's - Scotch Finger
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Corinthians - Chocolate Cream Wafers
Palm oil ingredient(s): Palm oil, Vegetable Oil (palm)
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Coles Smart Buy - Light Fruit Cake
Palm oil ingredient(s): Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fats and Oils (palm)
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Purity - Rose Pure Vegetable Oil Soap
Palm oil ingredient(s): Sodium Palmitate, Sodium Kernelate
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Swami Sarasvati - Apricot E Moisturiser
Palm oil ingredient(s): Palmitate, Stearic Acid, Clyceryl Stearate-Coco palm, Sodium Stearate, Retinyl Palmitate
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Organic Care/Nature's Organics - Normal Balance Conditioner
Palm oil ingredient(s): Palm Kernel
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Brut Endurance - Tough Growth Shave Gel
Palm oil ingredient(s): Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid
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Product Lists
Below are three lists:
TOP LEFT: Companies and their products that use palm oil sourced from land that once-was orangutan rainforest habitat.
BOTTOM LEFT: Companies and their brands that use RSPO 'sustainable' palm oil.
TOP RIGHT: Companies and their products that are palm oil free.
It is up to you as a consumer to choose whether to continue buying these products, whether they are crude, or whether you trust RSPO sustainable palm oil to be farmed in a sustainable manner.
A great way to help is to use these lists to target companies and complain about the use of palm oil in their products. Choose some of your favourite products that contain palm oil, go to their websites and find their contact details. You could either send them an email, or even better, give them a call! Express your opinion about their use of environmental-damaging palm oil - tell them about the catastrophic impacts palm oil is having on the planet, and encourage them to switch to an alternative vegetable oil!
CONSUMER PRESSURE = CHANGE!
For a full list of over 300 products containing crude palm oil click here.
PLEASE NOTE:
these lists mainly consist of companies and products from Australia and New Zealand.
The lists were last updated in February 2012.
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CONSUMER PRESSURE = CHANGE!
For a full list of over 300 products containing crude palm oil click here.
PLEASE NOTE:
these lists mainly consist of companies and products from Australia and New Zealand.
The lists were last updated in February 2012.
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PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN CRUDE PALM OIL:
Aldi Supermarkets -Damora snack foods -Belmont Biscuit co. -GoldenVale cereals -Dominion products -Choceur chocolates -Bramwells -Sprinters chips -Brookdale -Milfina ice-cream Arnott's Biscuits ~ Click here for more brands -Shapes (AP) -Shapes Sensations (AP) -Tim-Tams (AP) -Wagon Wheels -Mint Slice biscuit -Royals -Classic assorted -Venetian -Lemon Crisp -Raspberry shortcake -Arnott's cookies -Tiny Teddies -Jatz Clix biscuits (savoury) Coles Supermarkets - Coles brand range ~ Click here for more brands -"You'll Love Coles" range (ice-cream, garlic bread, milk chocolate etc.) -$mart Buy -Coles Pastries: Donuts, Biscuits, Cakes, Muffins & Scrolls (AP) Colgate-Palmolive ~ Click here for more products -Shampoos (AP) -Conditioners (AP) -Body wash (AP) -Soaps (AP) -Liquid hand-soap (AP) -Shower gel (AP) Colgate ~ Click here for more products -Toothpastes (AP) -Mouthwash -Shaving cream Fonterra dairy products ~ Click here for more brands -Dairy Milk Anchor (Fonterra brand) -Blue top milk -Cheese singles -Butter Mainland cheeses (Fonterra brand) ~ Click here for more products -Edam cheese -Colby cheese -Tasty cheese -Mild cheese -Special reserve cheese range (AP) Tip Top ice-creams (Fonterra brand) ~ Click here for more products -Joy Bar -Soft serve -Ice-creams in tub (AP) -Ice-creams on cone (AP) -Ice-creams on stick (AP) General Mills ~ Click here for more brands | PALM-OIL-FREE ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS: Alternatives List from the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation             |
