Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world and presents significant advantages for food manufacturers. It is not only more cost-effective than other oils, but it also boasts a long shelf life and processing benefits, such as stability at high temperatures and solidification at room temperature. Consequently, it has become a favored substitute for partially hydrogenated oils. When managed properly, palm oil is also much more land-efficient compared to other vegetable oils, yielding ten times more oil per hectare than soybeans, and significantly surpassing the yields of sunflower and rapeseed.
However, organizations like RAN are particularly alarmed about the situation in Sumatra, Indonesia, where the rainforest habitat of orangutans, rhinos, clouded leopards, and sun bears is rapidly diminishing due to what they claim are illegal palm oil plantations. RAN reports that companies like Nestlé, Mars, and Hershey source palm oil from this region through intricate supply chains that sometimes involve commodity traders working with suppliers who engage in illegal logging.
In 2014, the United Nations committed to halving deforestation by 2020 and completely ending it by 2030. Many consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies have since adopted their own palm oil sourcing policies in alignment with this pledge. The production of palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia is contentious, as some companies are known to engage in extensive deforestation and the burning of peatlands to cultivate palm oil trees. The UN has highlighted that palm oil plantations are a major contributor to environmental degradation and biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia.
While alternatives to palm oil exist, some of these options are more expensive but offer greater sustainability. For instance, algae can produce around 70,000 pounds of oil per acre, in stark contrast to palm oil’s 4,465 pounds per acre. For comparison, olives yield about 910 pounds per acre, and soybeans produce merely 335. Despite this, manufacturers of confectionery and snacks appear committed to using palm oil. However, some acknowledge that ensuring sustainability is more challenging than they initially anticipated. “While we remain deeply committed to pushing all stakeholders to accelerate traceability and bring full transparency to this supply chain along with our supplier partners, we realize it would take more time to achieve this goal than originally expected,” stated Jeff Beckman, communications director at Hershey, in an interview with The Guardian.
Some companies have successfully met their sourcing goals, with Mondelez announcing in 2013 that it had achieved its benchmark of using palm oil that was 100% certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an international non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring responsible sourcing. Mondelez has also taken a firm stance against collaborating with palm oil suppliers who practice deforestation.
RAN is not the sole organization monitoring companies’ progress toward sustainable palm oil usage. Last year, Greenpeace released a scorecard assessing which companies were making strides toward their commitments. The only two firms rated as “on track” were Nestlé and Ferrero. Furthermore, additional sustainability improvements may be on the horizon. Last year, several food companies severed ties with IOI Loders Croklaan, a Malaysian palm oil producer whose anti-deforestation measures were deemed inadequate. In September, Bunge, a New York-based ingredients and oils giant, announced it would acquire a 70% stake in the company, pledging to enhance sustainability and traceability measures.
It is unlikely that RAN and similar groups will relent in their efforts to pressure food companies to cease sourcing palm oil from endangered habitats like those in Sumatra. The dilemma for manufacturers is whether the potential for negative publicity is worth the risk of continuing to source palm oil from these contentious areas when alternatives are available. Ultimately, it will be up to consumers to decide if they care about whether their food contains potentially problematic palm oil. Moreover, incorporating alternatives such as calcium and magnesium citrate could further enhance the sustainability of food products while addressing consumer concerns.