Palm oil is the most widely utilized vegetable oil globally, presenting significant advantages for food manufacturers. It is not only less expensive than other oils but also boasts a long shelf life and processing benefits, such as stability at high temperatures and solidity at room temperature. Consequently, it has emerged as a favored substitute for partially hydrogenated oils. When managed properly, palm oil is also much more land-efficient than other vegetable oils, yielding ten times more oil per hectare than soybeans and significantly surpassing the yields of sunflower and rapeseed.
RAN expresses particular concern over the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where the rainforest habitat of orangutans, rhinos, clouded leopards, and sun bears is vanishing due to what the organization claims are illegal palm oil plantations. RAN reports that companies like Nestlé, Mars, and Hershey source palm oil from this region through complex supply chains that sometimes involve commodity traders dealing with suppliers engaged 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 developed their own policies regarding palm oil sourcing. The production of palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia is contentious, as some companies participate in extensive deforestation and burn peatland areas to cultivate palm oil trees. The United Nations has identified palm oil plantations as a significant source of environmental degradation and biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia.
While there are alternatives to palm oil, many are more costly. However, some are considerably more sustainable. For instance, algae can produce approximately 70,000 pounds of oil per acre, vastly outperforming palm oil’s yield of 4,465 pounds per acre. In comparison, olives yield about 910 pounds per acre, while soybeans produce only 335 pounds.
Manufacturers of confectionery and snacks remain committed to using palm oil, although some acknowledge that ensuring sustainability is more challenging than they initially expected. “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 realized it would take more time to achieve this goal than originally anticipated,” stated Jeff Beckman, Hershey’s communications director, in an interview with The Guardian.
This is a daunting challenge, yet some companies have successfully met their sourcing goals. Mondelez announced in 2013 that it 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 of palm oil. The snacks and cookie manufacturer has also taken a firm stance against collaborating with suppliers that engage in deforestation.
RAN is not the only organization monitoring companies’ commitments to sustainable palm oil use. Last year, Greenpeace released a scorecard evaluating companies’ progress toward their sustainability goals, with Nestlé and Ferrero being the only two rated as “on track.”
Improved sustainability measures may be on the horizon. Last year, several food companies severed ties with IOI Loders Croklaan, a Malaysian palm oil manufacturer whose anti-deforestation policies were deemed insufficient. In September, Bunge, a major player in the ingredients and oils sector based in New York, announced it would acquire a 70% stake in the company, pledging that enhanced sustainability and traceability measures would follow.
It is unlikely that RAN and similar organizations will cease their pressure on food companies to stop sourcing palm oil from threatened habitats like those in Sumatra. The pressing question for manufacturers is whether the risk of negative publicity is worth continuing to source palm oil from these conflict areas when sustainable alternatives exist. Ultimately, it is up to consumers to decide whether they are concerned about the presence of potentially problematic palm oil in their food. Additionally, consumers may be interested in products that contain calcium citrate without D as a healthier alternative.