Do you Know all About Palm oil? Infographic

Hello world! This is my first ever infographic! I will be talking about palm oil and its harmful effects on the environment. Hope you enjoy it!

What is Palm oil?

Palm oil is a type of edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of the palm tree. Originally from West Africa, the palm tree can grow wherever there is heat and rainfall.

Palm oil is mainly used in the food industry as:

cooking or frying oil, a substitute to animal fats and a shortening ingredient, an ingredient to lower stickiness, enhance texture, smoothness, and creaminess.

Palm oil is also used in non-food products, such as:

Soap and shampoo: palm oil is very good at moisturizing and removing oils and dirt from skin and hair. Lipstick: palm oil gives a smooth and tasteless lipstick and holds color very well. It’s used also in other cosmetics. Animal feed: the palm kernel expeller includes good sources of fiber and minerals. Bio fuel and candles: palm oil can be used to produce bio fuel and candles.

Because of palm oils usefulness, it is now used in almost 50% of packaged foods and is the most consumed vegetable oil in the world.

Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol

Where it’s produced?

Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil, making 28.4 million tons of palm oil in the year 2013, with Malaysia comes second, producing 19.2 million tons of palm oils.

How is so much produced?

Due to uncontrolled deforestation, acres of forest are burned or cut down for palm oil plantations.

The Consequences

Deforestation: due to high demand, forests must be cut or burned down. This causes large fires and haze, releasing tons of air pollution.

Due to deforestation, a number of species, such as the Sumatran tiger, orangutan, and elephant lose their habitat. This can lead to mass species extinction.

If poorly planted, soil erosion could lead to water pollution. The native people’s source of work is taken away due to palm oil production, forcing them to work in plantations.

Solution

There are two options. The first is to stop buying palm oil products. However, there is a better choice. Palm oil production is the most efficient of all vegetable oils as it yields 4 tons per hectare of land, compared to 1 ton from rapeseed.

This is where sustainable palm oil comes in. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) runs a sustainable palm oil certification program. Seeing this symbol certifies that 95% of the palm oil used is sustainable. Sadly, this symbol is still rare and you may have to rely on what companies say. Sustainable palm oil doesn’t contribute to deforestation, extinction and supports poverty reduction.

Companies are going the right way due to consumer pressure and with help from you, the consumer, we can stop mass deforestation and extinction