![Huile de palme biologique 350g](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Huile_de_palme_biologique_350g.jpg)
Palm oil is an edible
vegetable oil
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...
derived from the
mesocarp
Fruit anatomy is the plant anatomy of the internal structure of fruit. Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Agg ...
(reddish pulp) of the fruit of the
oil palms
''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm ''Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its cou ...
. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as
biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from oil crops in 2014.
Palm oils are easier to stabilize and maintain quality of flavor and consistency in
processed foods
Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily por ...
, so are frequently favored by food manufacturers. On average globally, humans consumed 7.7 kg (17 lb) of palm oil per person in 2015.
Demand has also increased for other uses, such as cosmetics and biofuels, creating more demand on the supply encouraging the growth of palm oil plantations in tropical countries.
The use of palm oil has attracted the concern of environmental groups due to
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
in the
tropic
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
s where palms are grown, and has been cited as a factor in social problems due to allegations of human rights violations among growers. An industry group formed in 2004 to create more sustainable and ethical palm oil, through the
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable palm oil products through global standards and multistakeholder governance. The seat of the association is i ...
. However, very little palm oil is certified through the organization, and some groups have criticized it as
greenwashing
Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on "whitewash"), also called "green sheen", is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aims ...
. In 2018, a report by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
acknowledged that palm oil is much more efficient than other oils in terms of land and water usage, however deforestation causes more biodiversity loss than switching to other oils.
The biggest producers of palm oil are Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Nigeria.
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
produces
biodiesel
Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...
primarily from palm oil. Since agricultural land is limited, in order to plant
monoculture
In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monoculture is widely used in intensive farming and in organic farming: both a 1,000-hectare/acre cornfield and a 10-ha/acre field of organic kale are ...
s of oil palms, land used for other cultivations or the tropical forest need to be cleared. A major environmental threat is then the
destruction of rainforests in Indonesia.
History
![Elaeis guineensis MS 3467](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Elaeis_guineensis_MS_3467.jpg)
Humans used oil palms as far back as 5,000 years. In the late 1800s, archaeologists discovered a substance that they concluded was originally palm oil in a tomb at
Abydos dating back to 3,000 BCE.
Palm oil from ''Elaeis guineensis'' has long been recognized in West and Central African countries, used widely as a
cooking oil. European merchants trading with West Africa occasionally purchased palm oil for use as a cooking oil in Europe.
Palm oil became a highly sought-after commodity by British traders for use as an industrial
lubricant
A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...
for machinery during Britain's
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. Palm oil formed the basis of
soap
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...
products, such as
Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...
' (now
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
) "
Sunlight
Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when t ...
" soap, and the American
Palmolive brand.
By around 1870, palm oil constituted the primary export of some West African countries, although this was overtaken by
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
in the 1880s with the introduction of colonial European cocoa plantations.
Processing
![Elaeis guineensis - noix de palme oil palm - harvesting fruits from the the cluster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Elaeis_guineensis_-_noix_de_palme_oil_palm_-_harvesting_fruits_from_the_the_cluster.jpg)
Palm oil is naturally reddish in color because of a high
beta-carotene content. It is not to be confused with
palm kernel oil
Palm kernel oil is an edible plant oil derived from the kernel of the oil palm tree ''Elaeis guineensis''. It is related to other two edible oils: ''palm oil'', extracted from the fruit pulp of the oil palm, and ''coconut oil'', extracted from ...
derived from the
kernel
Kernel may refer to:
Computing
* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
* Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
* Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
* Kernel method, in machine learn ...
of the same fruit or
coconut oil derived from the kernel of the coconut palm (''
Cocos nucifera
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...
''). The differences are in color (raw palm kernel oil lacks
carotenoids
Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, ...
and is not red), and in
saturated fat content: palm mesocarp oil is 49% saturated, while palm kernel oil and coconut oil are 81% and 86% saturated fats, respectively. However, crude red palm oil that has been refined, neutralized, bleached and deodorized, a common
commodity
In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.
The price of a comm ...
called RBD (refined, bleached, and deodorized) palm oil, does not contain carotenoids.
Many industrial food applications of palm oil use fractionated components of palm oil (often listed as "modified palm oil") whose saturation levels can reach 90%; these "modified" palm oils can become highly saturated, but are not necessarily
hydrogenated
Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic ...
.
The oil palm produces bunches containing many fruits with the fleshy mesocarp enclosing a kernel that is covered by a very hard shell. The
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
considers palm oil (coming from the pulp) and palm kernels to be primary products. The oil extraction rate from a bunch varies from 17 to 27% for palm oil, and from 4 to 10% for palm kernels.
Along with coconut oil, palm oil is one of the few highly saturated
vegetable fat
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fa ...
s and is semisolid at room temperature.
Palm oil is a common cooking ingredient in the tropical belt of Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil. Its use in the commercial food industry in other parts of the world is widespread because of its lower cost and the high oxidative stability (
saturation
Saturation, saturated, unsaturation or unsaturated may refer to:
Chemistry
* Saturation, a property of organic compounds referring to carbon-carbon bonds
**Saturated and unsaturated compounds
** Degree of unsaturation
**Saturated fat or fatty aci ...
) of the refined product when used for frying. One source reported that humans consumed an average of palm oil per person in 2015.
Many
processed food
Convenience food, also called tertiary processed food, is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) to optimise ease of consumption. Such food is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily por ...
s either contain palm oil or various ingredients made from it.
Refining
After
milling, various palm oil products are made using
refining processes. First is
fractionation
Fractionation is a separation process in which a certain quantity of a mixture (of gases, solids, liquids, enzymes, or isotopes, or a suspension) is divided during a phase transition, into a number of smaller quantities (fractions) in which the ...
, with crystallization and separation processes to obtain solid (
palm stearin Palm stearin is the solid fraction of palm oil that is produced by partial crystallization at controlled temperature. It is a stearin in the sense of stearins and oleins being the solid and liquid fractions respectively of fats and oils; not in the ...
), and liquid (
olein
Triolein is a symmetrical triglyceride derived from glycerol and three units of the unsaturated fatty acid oleic acid. Most triglycerides are unsymmetrical, being derived from mixtures of fatty acids. Triolein represents 4–30% of olive oil.
Tri ...
) fractions.
Then melting and
degumming
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, ''Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively studi ...
removes impurities. Then the oil is filtered and bleached. Physical refining removes smells and coloration to produce "refined, bleached and deodorized palm oil" (RBDPO) and free fatty acids, which are used in the manufacture of
soap
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...
s,
washing powder
Laundry detergent is a type of detergent (cleaning agent) used for cleaning dirty laundry (clothes). Laundry detergent is manufactured in powder (washing powder) and liquid form.
While powdered and liquid detergents hold roughly equal share of ...
and other products. RBDPO is the basic palm oil product sold on the world's commodity markets. Many companies fractionate it further to produce palm oil for cooking oil, or process it into other products.
Red palm oil
Since the mid-1990s, red palm oil has been
cold-pressed from the fruit of the oil palm and bottled for use as a
cooking oil, in addition to other uses such as being blended into
mayonnaise and
vegetable oil
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...
.
Oil produced from palm fruit is called ''red palm oil'' or just ''palm oil''. It is around 50%
saturated fat—considerably less than
palm kernel oil
Palm kernel oil is an edible plant oil derived from the kernel of the oil palm tree ''Elaeis guineensis''. It is related to other two edible oils: ''palm oil'', extracted from the fruit pulp of the oil palm, and ''coconut oil'', extracted from ...
—and 40%
unsaturated fat
An unsaturated fat is a fat or fatty acid in which there is at least one double bond within the fatty acid chain. A fatty acid chain is monounsaturated if it contains one double bond, and polyunsaturated if it contains more than one double bond.
...
and 10%
polyunsaturated fat. In its unprocessed state, red palm oil has an intense deep red color because of its abundant
carotene content. Red palm oil also contains
sterols,
vitamin E
Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vi ...
, and
carotenoids such as
alpha-carotene,
beta-carotene, and
lycopene
Lycopene is an organic compound classified as a tetraterpene and a carotene. Lycopene (from the neo-Latin '' Lycopersicum'', the tomato species) is a bright red carotenoid hydrocarbon found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables.
Occu ...
.
White palm oil
White palm oil is the result of processing and refining. When refined, the palm oil loses its deep red color. It is extensively used in food manufacture and can be found in a variety of processed foods including peanut butter and chips. It is often labeled as palm shortening and is used as a replacement ingredient for hydrogenated fats in a variety of baked and fried products.
Uses
In food
The highly saturated nature of palm oil renders it solid at room temperature in temperate regions, making it a cheap
substitute for
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
or
hydrogenated
Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic ...
vegetable oil
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...
s in uses where solid fat is desirable, such as the making of
pastry
Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" sugges ...
dough and baked goods. Palm oil is used in West African cuisine such as
egusi soup
Egusi (Yoruba: '' ẹ̀gúsí,'' Igbo: ègwusi), also known as, agusi, ohue, Ikpan, Ikon, or agushi) is the name for the protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants (squash, melon, gourd), which, after being dried and ground, are us ...
and
okra soup
Okra or Okro soup is prepared using the edible green seed pods of the okra flowering plant as a primary ingredient. Other vegetables can be added to the soup as well, such as ewedu, kerenkere, or Ugu leaf. Depending on the specific variant being ...
. The health concerns related to
trans fat
Trans fat, also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids, or trans fatty acids, is a type of unsaturated fat that naturally occurs in small amounts in meat and milk fat. It became widely produced as an unintentional byproduct in the industrial pr ...
s in hydrogenated vegetable oils may have contributed to the increasing use of palm oil in the
food industry
The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...
.
Palm oil is sometimes used as a minor ingredient in calf milk replacer.
Non-food consumer products
Palm oil is pervasively used in personal care and cleaning products, and it provides the foaming agent in nearly every soap, shampoo, or detergent. Around 70% of personal care products including soap, shampoo, makeup, and lotion, contain ingredients derived from palm oil. However, there are more than 200 different names for these palm oil ingredients and only 10% of them include the word “palm".
Biomass and biofuels
Palm oil is used to produce both methyl ester and hydrodeoxygenated
biodiesel
Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...
.
Palm oil methyl ester is created through a process called
transesterification
In organic chemistry, transesterification is the process of exchanging the organic group R″ of an ester with the organic group R' of an alcohol. These reactions are often catalyzed by the addition of an acid or base catalyst. The reaction ca ...
. Palm oil biodiesel is often blended with other fuels to create palm oil biodiesel blends. Palm oil biodiesel meets the European
EN 14214
EN 14214 is a standard published by the European Committee for Standardization that describes the requirements and test methods for FAME - the most common type of biodiesel.
The technical definition of biodiesel is a fuel suitable for use in comp ...
standard for biodiesels.
Hydrodeoxygenated biodiesel is produced by direct
hydrogenolysis
Hydrogenolysis is a chemical reaction whereby a carbon–carbon or carbon–heteroatom single bond is cleaved or undergoes lysis (breakdown) by hydrogen.Ralph Connor, Homer Adkins. Hydrogenolysis Of Oxygenated Organic Compounds. J. Am. Chem. Soc. ...
of the fat into alkanes and propane. The world's largest palm oil biodiesel plant is the €550 million Finnish-operated
Neste Oil
Neste Oyj (international name: Neste Corporation; former names Neste Oil Corporation and Fortum Oil and Gas Oy) is an oil refining and marketing company located in Espoo, Finland. It produces, refines and markets oil products, provides engi ...
biodiesel plant in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, which opened in 2011 with a capacity of 800,000 tons per year and produces hydrodeoxygenated
NEXBTL Neste Renewable Diesel (formerly NExBTL) is a vegetable oil refining fuel production process commercialized by the Finnish oil and refining company Neste. Whether as an admixture or in its pure form, Neste Renewable Diesel is able to supplement or ...
biodiesel from palm oil imported from Malaysia and Indonesia.
Significant amounts of palm oil exports to Europe are converted to biodiesel (as of early 2018: Indonesia: 40%, Malaysia 30%). In 2014, almost half of all the palm oil in Europe was burned as car and truck fuel. As of 2018, one-half of Europe's palm oil imports were used for biodiesel. Use of palm oil as biodiesel generates three times the carbon emissions as using fossil fuel, and, for example, "biodiesel made from Indonesian palm oil makes the global carbon problem worse, not better."
There are pressures for increased oil palm production from Indonesian palm-based biodiesel programs. The biodiesel currently contains a 30:70 palm oil to conventional diesel ratio (known as B30) at the gas pumps. The Indonesian government is aiming to produce 100% palm oil biodiesel (or B100) to transition out of using conventional diesel. The Indonesian government has estimated it would need to establish approximately 15 million hectares of oil palm plantations to meet these future demands.
The organic waste matter that is produced when processing oil palm, including oil palm shells and oil palm fruit bunches, can also be used to produce energy. This waste material can be converted into pellets that can be used as a biofuel.
Additionally, palm oil that has been used to fry foods can be converted into methyl esters for biodiesel. The used cooking oil is chemically treated to create a biodiesel similar to petroleum diesel.
In wound care
Although palm oil is applied to wounds for its supposed
antimicrobial
An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or stops their growth. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals ar ...
effects, research does not confirm its effectiveness.
Production
In 2018–2019, world production of palm oil was . The annual production of palm oil is projected to reach by 2050. During the
2022 food crises instigated by the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
and crop failures in other parts of the world due to
extreme weather caused by climate change, the Indonesian government banned exports of palm oil.
This combined with a reduced harvest in Malaysia greatly increased global prices, while reducing availability causing ripple effects in the global supply chain.
On 23 May 2022, the Indonesian government reopened trading hoping to balance supplies.
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
is the world's largest producer of palm oil, surpassing Malaysia in 2006, producing more than ,
a number that has since risen to over (2016 output). Indonesia expects to double production by the end of 2030.
By 2019, this number was . At the end of 2010, 60% of the output was exported in the form of crude palm oil.
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
data shows production increased by over 400% between 1994 and 2004, to over .
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
is the world's second largest producer of palm oil. In 1992, in response to
concerns about deforestation, the
Government of Malaysia
The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory (Malaysia), Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is l ...
pledged to limit the expansion of palm oil plantations by retaining a minimum of half the nation's land as
forest cover
Forest cover is the amount of forest that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/square miles). Around a third of the world's surface is covered with forest, with closed-canop ...
.
In 2012, the country
produced of crude palm oil on roughly of land.
Though Indonesia produces more palm oil, Malaysia is the world's largest exporter of palm oil having exported of palm oil products in 2011.
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Pakistan, the European Union and the United States are the primary importers of Malaysian palm oil products.
In 2016, palm oil prices jumped to a four-year high days after Trump's election victory in the US.
Nigeria
As of 2018,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
was the third-largest producer, with approximately under cultivation. Until 1934, Nigeria had been the world's largest producer. Both small- and large-scale producers participated in the industry.
Thailand
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
is the world's third largest producer of crude palm oil, producing approximately per year, or 1.2% of global output. Nearly all of Thai production is consumed locally. Almost 85% of palm plantations and extraction mills are in south Thailand. At year-end 2016, 4.7 to 5.8 million
rai
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
() were planted in oil palms, employing 300,000 farmers, mostly on small landholdings of 20 rai ().
ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
as a region accounts for of palm oil production, about 85% of the world total and more than 90% of global exports. Indonesia accounts for 52% of world exports. Malaysian exports total 38%. The biggest consumers of palm oil are India, the European Union, and China, with the three consuming nearly 50% of world exports. Thailand's Department of Internal Trade (DIT) usually sets the price of crude palm oil and refined palm oil Thai farmers have a relatively low yield compared to those in Malaysia and Indonesia. Thai palm oil crops yield 4–17% oil compared to around 20% in competing countries. In addition, Indonesian and Malaysian oil palm plantations are 10 times the size of Thai plantations.
Colombia
In 2018, total palm oil production in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
reached , representing some 8% of national agricultural
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
and benefiting mainly
smallholder
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
s (65% of Colombia's palm oil sector). According to a study from the Environmental, Science and Policy, Colombia has the potential to produce sustainable palm oil without causing
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
. In addition, palm oil and other crops provide a productive alternative for illegal crops, like
coca
Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine.
The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, ...
.
Ecuador
Ecuador aims to help palm oil producers switch to sustainable methods and achieve RSPO certification under initiatives to develop greener industries.
Benin
Palm is native to the wetlands of western Africa, and south
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
already hosts many palm plantations. Its 'Agricultural Revival Programme' has identified many thousands of hectares of land as suitable for new oil palm export plantations. In spite of the economic benefits,
Non-governmental organisation
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...
s (NGOs), such as
Nature Tropicale
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
, claim biofuels will compete with domestic food production in some existing prime agricultural sites. Other areas comprise
peat land, whose drainage would have a deleterious
environmental impact
Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...
. They are also concerned
genetically modified
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the gene ...
plants will be introduced into the region, jeopardizing the current premium paid for their non-GM crops.
According to recent article by
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
, most palm oil in Benin is still produced by women for domestic use. The FAO additionally states that peasants in Benin practice
agroecology
Agroecology (US: a-grō-ē-ˈkä-lə-jē) is an academic discipline that studies ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems. Bringing ecological principles to bear can suggest new management approaches in agroecosystems. The ...
. They harvest palm fruit from small farms and the palm oil is mostly used for local consumption.
Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
had a production project underway initiated by Herakles Farms in the US. However, the project was halted under the pressure of civil society organizations in Cameroon. Before the project was halted, Herakles left the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil early in negotiations. The project has been controversial due to opposition from villagers and the location of the project in a sensitive region for biodiversity.
Kenya
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
's domestic production of edible oils covers about a third of its annual demand, estimated at around . The rest is imported at a cost of around US$140 million a year, making edible oil the country's second most important import after petroleum. Since 1993 a new
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
variety of cold-tolerant, high-yielding oil palm has been promoted by the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
in western Kenya. As well as alleviating the country's deficit of edible oils while providing an important cash crop, it is claimed to have environmental benefits in the region, because it does not compete against food crops or native vegetation and it provides stabilisation for the soil.
Ghana
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
has a lot of
palm nut
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
species, which may become an important contributor to the agriculture of the region. Although Ghana has multiple palm species, ranging from local palm nuts to other species locally called agric, it was only marketed locally and to neighboring countries. Production is now expanding as major investment funds are purchasing plantations, because Ghana is considered a major growth area for palm oil.
Social and environmental impacts
Forests have been cleared in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia to make space for oil-palm
monoculture
In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monoculture is widely used in intensive farming and in organic farming: both a 1,000-hectare/acre cornfield and a 10-ha/acre field of organic kale are ...
. This has
significant impacts on the local ecosystems leading to
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
and
biodiversity loss
Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...
. For example, these processes have resulted in significant acreage losses of the natural habitat of the three surviving species of
orangutan
Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...
. One species in particular, the
Sumatran orangutan, has been listed as
critically endangered because of habitat loss due to palm oil cultivation.
Social
![Palm forest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Palm_forest.jpg)
In addition to environmental concerns, palm oil development in regions that produce it has also led to significant
social conflict
Social conflict is the struggle for agency or power in society.
Social conflict occurs when two or more people oppose each other in social interaction, and each exerts social power with reciprocity in an effort to achieve incompatible goals but ...
. Regions with fast growing palm oil production have experienced significant violations of indigenous land rights, influxes of illegal immigrant labor and labor practices, and other alleged related human rights violations.
The palm oil industry has had both positive and negative impacts on workers,
indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
and residents of palm oil-producing communities. Palm oil production provides employment opportunities, and has been shown to improve
infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
, social services and reduce poverty.
However, in some cases, oil palm plantations have developed lands without consultation or compensation of the indigenous people inhabiting the land, resulting in social conflict.
The use of
illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...
in Malaysia has also raised concerns about working conditions within the palm oil industry.
Some social initiatives use palm oil cultivation as part of poverty alleviation strategies. Examples include the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's hybrid oil palm project in Western Kenya, which improves incomes and diets of local populations, and Malaysia's
Federal Land Development Authority
The Federal Land Development Authority (Felda; ms, Lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan. LKTP) is a Malaysian government agency that was founded to handle the resettlement of rural poor into newly developed areas (''colonies'', ''settlements'' ...
and Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority, which both support rural development.
Food vs. fuel
The use of palm oil in the production of biodiesel has led to concerns that the need for fuel is being placed ahead of the need for food, leading to
malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
in developing nations. This is known as the food versus fuel debate. According to a 2008 report published in the ''
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
''Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research on sustainable energy. It is published in 12 issues per year by Elsevier and the editor-in-chief is Aoife M. Foley (Queen's University Belfast). Ac ...
'', palm oil was determined to be a sustainable source of both food and biofuel, and the production of palm oil biodiesel does not pose a threat to edible palm oil supplies.
According to a 2009 study published in the ''Environmental Science and Policy'' journal, palm oil biodiesel might increase the demand for palm oil in the future, resulting in the expansion of palm oil production, and therefore an increased supply of food.
Human rights
One report indicated numerous allegations of
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
violations in the production of palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia, including exposure to hazardous
pesticide
Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...
s,
child labor
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
, and
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
and
sexual abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
, and unsafe carrying loads. These incidents may receive no response by the company or police, or are left unreported because victims fear retaliation from their abuser. The chemicals used in the pesticides, such as
paraquat and
glyphosate
Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum Herbicide, systemic herbicide and Crop desiccation, crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plan ...
, have been linked to diseases such as
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
and
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
.
Reports of Indigenous peoples and communities in Indonesia, indicate losing farmland and traditionally significant land due to palm oil industry expansion. In 2017, there were over 650 different land disputes between palm oil plantations and Indigenous land owners.
Indigenous communities also expressed concern over the loss of natural resources, such as wild rubber, reed, and ''adat'' forests (communal forests).
Indigenous communities have made some ground when it comes to land disputes, either through protest or legal means.
Other concerns when it comes to Indigenous communities being impacted include lack of government oversight on palm oil plantations, political corruption, or the lacking of enforcement on laws meant to protect Indigenous lands. In countries such as Guatemala, palm oil plantation have significant pressure on local police forces, leading to local police to disregard land claims, going as far as using force to break up protests, and even murdering local leaders.
Environmental
While only 5% of the world's vegetable oil farmland is used for palm plantations, palm cultivation produces 38% of the world's total vegetable oil supply.
In terms of oil yield, a palm plantation is 10 times more productive than
soybean
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...
,
sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
or
rapeseed
Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...
cultivation because the palm fruit and
kernel
Kernel may refer to:
Computing
* Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems
* Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution
* Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming
* Kernel method, in machine learn ...
both provide usable oil.
Palm oil has garnered criticism from environmentalists due to the environmental importance of where it is grown. However, it is indisputably more efficient in comparison to other oil-producing plants. In 2016, it was found that palm oil farms produce around 4.17 metric tons of oil per hectare. Whereas other oils such as sunflower, soybean, or peanut only produce 0.56, 0.39, and 0.16 metric tons respectively per hectare. Palm oil is the most sustainable vegetable oil in terms of yield, requiring one-ninth of land used by other vegetable oil crops.
In the future, laboratory-grown microbes might achieve higher yields per unit of land at comparable prices.
However, palm oil cultivation has been criticized for its impact on the natural environment,
including
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
, loss of natural habitats, and
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
which have threatened
critically endangered species, such as the
orangutan
Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...
and
Sumatran tiger.
Slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...
techniques are still used to create new plantations across palm oil producing countries. From January to September 2019, 857 000 hectares of land was burned in Indonesia; peatlands accounted for more than a quarter of the burned area.
![Riau deforestation 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Riau_deforestation_2006.jpg)
Environmental groups such as
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
and
Friends of the Earth oppose the use of palm oil biofuels, claiming that the
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
caused by oil palm plantations is more damaging for the climate than the benefits gained by switching to biofuel and using the palms as
carbon sink
A carbon sink is anything, natural or otherwise, that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period and thereby removes carbon dioxide () from the atmosphere.
Globally, the two most important carbon si ...
s.
A 2018 study by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
(IUCN) concluded that palm oil is "here to stay" due to its higher productivity compared with many other vegetable oils. The IUCN maintains that replacing palm oil with other vegetable oils would necessitate greater amounts of agricultural land, negatively affecting
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
.
The IUCN advocates better practices in the palm oil industry, including the prevention of plantations from expanding into forested regions and creating a demand for certified and sustainable palm oil products.
In 2019, the
Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a gr ...
surveyed eight global brands involved in palm oil extraction in the
Leuser Ecosystem The Leuser Ecosystem is an area of forest located in the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Covering more than 2.6 million hectares it is one of the richest expanses of tropical rain forest in Southeast A ...
, and said that none was performing adequately in avoiding “conflict palm oil”. Many of the companies told the Guardian they were working to improve their performance. A
WWF scorecard rated only 15 out of 173 companies as performing well.
In 2020 a study by
Chain Reaction Research concluded that NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation) policies cover 83% of palm oil refineries. NDPE policies are according to the Chain Reaction Research the most effective private mechanism to cut the direct link with deforestation, due to the economic leverage refineries have over palm oil growers.
Markets
According to the Hamburg-based ''Oil World'' trade journal, in 2008 global production of oils and fats stood at 160 million tonnes. Palm oil and palm kernel oil were jointly the largest contributor, accounting for 48 million tonnes, or 30% of the total output.
Soybean oil
Soybean oil (British English: soyabean oil) is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (''Glycine max''). It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processed s ...
came in second with 37 million tonnes (23%). About 38% of the oils and fats produced in the world were shipped across oceans. Of the 60 million tonnes of oils and fats exported around the world, palm oil and palm kernel oil made up close to 60%; Malaysia, with 45% of the market share, dominated the palm oil trade.
Production of palm oil that complies with voluntary sustainability standards is growing at a faster rate than conventional production. Standard-compliant production increased by 110% from 2008 to 2016, while conventional production increased by 2%.
Food label regulations
Previously, palm oil could be listed as "vegetable fat" or "vegetable oil" on food labels in the European Union (EU). From December 2014, food packaging in the EU is no longer allowed to use the generic terms "vegetable fat" or "vegetable oil" in the ingredients list. Food producers are required to list the specific type of vegetable fat used, including palm oil. Vegetable oils and fats can be grouped together in the ingredients list under the term "vegetable oils" or "vegetable fats" but this must be followed by the type of vegetable origin (e.g., palm, sunflower, or rapeseed) and the phrase "in varying proportions".
Supply chain institutions
Consumer Goods Forum
In 2010, the
Consumer Goods Forum The Consumer Goods Forum is a global organization of 400 consumer goods companies with the likes of Amazon and Kellogg being involved. It represents combined sales of 2.5 trillion Euros across 70 countries and 10 million employees.
Overview
The C ...
passed a resolution that its members would reduce deforestation through their palm oil supply to net zero by 2020.
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
The
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable palm oil products through global standards and multistakeholder governance. The seat of the association is i ...
(RSPO) was established in 2004
following concerns raised by non-governmental organizations about environmental impacts resulting from palm oil production. The organization has established international standards for sustainable palm oil production.
Products containing Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) can carry the RSPO trademark.
Members of the RSPO include palm oil producers, environmental groups, and manufacturers who use palm oil in their products.
In 2014, Indonesia accounted for 40% of global palm oil production and 44% of the total RSPO-certified areas.
The RSPO is applying different types of programmes to supply palm oil to producers.
* Book and claim: no guarantee that the end product contains certified sustainable palm oil, supports RSPO-certified growers and farmers
* Identity preserved: the end user is able to trace the palm oil back to a specific single mill and its supply base (plantations)
* Segregated: this option guarantees that the end product contains certified palm oil
* Mass balance: the refinery is only allowed to sell the same amount of mass balance palm oil as the amount of certified sustainable palm oil purchased
GreenPalm
GreenPalm is a certificate-trading program for "sustainably produced" palm oil. Established in Hull, England, in November 2006, GreenPalm is a trading name of Book & Claim Ltd., "a wholly owned subsidiary of" AarhusKarlshamn UK Ltd. is one of the retailers executing the book and claim supply chain and trading programme. It guarantees that the palm oil producer is certified by the RSPO. Through GreenPalm the producer can certify a specified amount with the GreenPalm logo. The buyer of the oil is allowed to use the RSPO and the GreenPalm label for sustainable palm oil on their products.
![Zurich RT2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Zurich_RT2.jpg)
After the meeting in 2009, a number of environmental organisations were critical of the scope of the agreements reached.
Palm oil growers who produce CSPO have been critical of the organization because, though they have met RSPO standards and assumed the costs associated with certification, the market demand for certified palm oil remains low.
Low market demand has been attributed to the higher cost of CSPO, leading palm oil buyers to purchase cheaper non-certified palm oil. Palm oil is mostly
fungible
In economics, fungibility is the property of a good or a commodity whose individual units are essentially interchangeable, and each of whose parts is indistinguishable from any other part. Fungible tokens can be exchanged or replaced; for exam ...
. In 2011, 12% of palm oil produced was certified "sustainable", though only half of that had the RSPO label.
Even with such a low proportion being certified,
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
has argued that confectioners are avoiding responsibilities on sustainable palm oil, because it says that RSPO standards fall short of protecting the environment. Even though deforestation has decreased in RSPO-certified oil palm plantations, peatlands continue to be drained and burned for the creation of new RSPO-certified palm plantations.
Composition
Fatty acids
Palm oil, like all fats, is composed of
fatty acid
In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, ...
s,
ester
In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ar ...
ified with
glycerol
Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...
. Palm oil has an especially high concentration of saturated fat, specifically the 16-carbon saturated fatty acid,
palmitic acid
Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The Li ...
, to which it gives its name. Monounsaturated
oleic acid
Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega ...
is also a major constituent of palm oil. Unrefined palm oil is a significant source of
tocotrienol
The vitamin E family comprise four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) and four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta). The critical chemical structural difference between tocotrienols and tocopherols is that tocotrienols have unsaturated i ...
, part of the
vitamin E
Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vi ...
family.
[
The approximate concentration of esterified fatty acids in palm oil is:
]
Carotenes
Red palm oil is rich in carotenes, such as alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lycopene
Lycopene is an organic compound classified as a tetraterpene and a carotene. Lycopene (from the neo-Latin '' Lycopersicum'', the tomato species) is a bright red carotenoid hydrocarbon found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables.
Occu ...
, which give it a characteristic dark red color. However, palm oil that has been refined, bleached and deodorized from crude palm oil (called "RBD palm oil") does not contain carotenes.[
]
Comparison to other vegetable oils
Nutrition and health
Contributing significant calories as a source of fat, palm oil is a food staple in many cuisines. On average globally, humans consumed 7.7 kg (17 lb) of palm oil per person in 2015. Although the relationship of palm oil consumption to disease risk has been previously assessed, the quality of the clinical research
Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatm ...
specifically assessing palm oil effects has been generally poor. Consequently, research has focused on the deleterious effects of palm oil and palmitic acid consumption as sources of saturated fat content in edible oils, leading to conclusions that palm oil and saturated fats should be replaced with polyunsaturated fats in the diet.
A 2015 meta-analysis
A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies. Meta-analyses can be performed when there are multiple scientific studies addressing the same question, with each individual study reporting me ...
and 2017 advisory from the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...
indicated that palm oil is among foods supplying dietary saturated fat which increases blood levels of LDL cholesterol
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoprotein that transport all fat molecules around the body in extracellular water. These groups, from least dense to most dense, are chylomicrons (aka ULDL by the overall dens ...
and increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, leading to recommendations for reduced use or elimination of dietary palm oil in favor of consuming unhydrogenated vegetable oil
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...
s.
Glycidyl fatty acid esters (GE), 3-MCPD and 2-MCPD, are found especially in palm oils and palm fats because of their refining at high temperatures (approx. ). Since glycidol
Glycidol is an organic compound that contains both epoxide and alcohol functional groups. Being bifunctional, it has a variety of industrial uses. The compound is a slightly viscous liquid that is slightly unstable and is not often encountered i ...
, the parent compound of GE, is considered genotoxic and carcinogenic, the EFSA
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, ...
didn't set a safe level for GE. According to the chair of the CONTAM (EFSA’s expert Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain), "The exposure to GE of babies consuming solely infant formula
Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...
is a particular concern as this is up to ten times what would be considered of low concern for public health". The EFSA's tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 3-MCPD and its fatty acid esters was set to 0.8 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day (µg/kg bw/day) in 2016 and increased to 2 µg/kg bw/day in 2017, based on evidence linking this substance to organ damage in animal tests and on possible adverse effects on the kidney
The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
and on male fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertilit ...
. According to the EFSA, there is not enough data to set a safe level for 2-MCPD.
Palmitic acid
Excessive intake of palmitic acid
Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The Li ...
, which makes up 44% of palm oil, increases blood levels of low-density lipoprotein
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoprotein that transport all fat molecules around the body in extracellular water. These groups, from least dense to most dense, are chylomicrons (aka ULDL by the overall densit ...
(LDL) and total cholesterol, and so increases risk of cardiovascular diseases
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, ...
. Other reviews, the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
, and the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is the third largest Institute of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. It is tasked with allocating about $3.6 billion in FY 2020 in tax revenue to ...
have encouraged consumers to limit the consumption of palm oil, palmitic acid and foods high in saturated fat.[Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases]
WHO Technical Report Series 916, Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation, World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
, Geneva, 2003, p. 88 (Table 10)
See also
* Coconut oil
* Palm sugar
* Tropical agriculture
Worldwide more human beings gain their livelihood from agriculture than any other endeavor; the majority are self-employed subsistence farmers living in the tropics. While growing food for local consumption is the core of tropical agriculture, ...
Further reading
*Zuckerman, Jocelyn C. (2021). ''Planet Palm: How Palm Oil Ended Up in Everything―and Endangered the World''. The New Press. ISBN
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.
An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition an ...
978-1620975237.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palm Oil
Tropical agriculture
Environmental controversies
Crops