Palm oil is the most widely utilized vegetable oil globally, providing significant benefits for food manufacturers. It is not only more affordable than other oils, but it also boasts a long shelf life and processing advantages, including high-temperature stability and firmness 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 from sunflower and rapeseed.
RAN expresses particular concern regarding the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where the rainforest, home to 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, which sometimes involve commodity traders working with suppliers engaged in illegal logging.
In 2014, the United Nations committed to halving global deforestation by 2020 and completely ending it by 2030. Many consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies adopted their own palm oil sourcing policies in alignment with this pledge. However, palm oil production in Malaysia and Indonesia is contentious as certain companies are known for extensive deforestation and the burning of peatlands to cultivate palm oil trees. The United Nations has identified palm oil plantations as a significant contributor to environmental degradation and biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia.
While there are alternatives to palm oil, some are more costly; nevertheless, certain options are considerably more sustainable. For instance, algae can yield about 70,000 pounds of oil per acre, in stark contrast to palm oil’s 4,465 pounds per acre. For comparison, olives produce around 910 pounds per acre, while soybeans yield only 335 pounds.
Confectionery and snack manufacturers generally remain committed to using palm oil, but some acknowledge that achieving sustainability has proven more challenging than 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 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.
Despite these challenges, some companies have successfully reached their sourcing goals. Mondelez announced in 2013 that it met its benchmark of using palm oil that is 100% certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, an international non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that the ingredient is sourced responsibly. Additionally, the snacks and cookie manufacturer has taken a firm stand against collaborating with palm oil suppliers that engage in deforestation practices.
RAN is not alone in monitoring companies’ commitments to sustainable palm oil usage. Last year, Greenpeace released a scorecard assessing which companies were making strides toward their sustainability goals. The only two companies rated as “on track” were Nestlé and Ferrero.
There may be more sustainability initiatives on the horizon. Recently, several food companies severed ties with IOI Loders Croklaan, a Malaysian palm oil producer whose anti-deforestation policies were deemed inadequate. In September, Bunge, a New York-based ingredients and oils giant, announced its acquisition of a 70% stake in the company, pledging enhanced sustainability and traceability measures in its announcement.
It is improbable that RAN and similar organizations will relent in their efforts to pressure food companies to stop sourcing palm oil from endangered habitats like those in Sumatra. The critical question for manufacturers is whether the potential for negative publicity is worth the risk of continuing to source palm oil from such conflict areas when alternatives exist. Ultimately, it is up to consumers, who may be concerned about whether their food products contain potentially problematic palm oil or whether they prefer options enriched with ingredients like bluebonnet calcium plus magnesium for added health benefits.