Palm oil is available in numerous items and disengaged from the mash of oil palm products.
Its low creation cost and adaptability make it the most generally involved fixing in the food and makeup industry. Palm oil is particularly used in baking and many ready-made dishes. It is also found in some body care and other cleansing products, such as:
- Soaps
- Creams
- And Shampoos
Even organic and eco-solidarity products can contain it.
Properties Of Palm Oil
Let’s be clear if palm oil is so widespread, and it is because it (and it alone) resists without deteriorating and going rancid:
- To the conditions imposed by industrial production.
- Storage times (sometimes long).
- Even prolonged heat (sun, light).
- Storage in containers not hermetically sealed (bouillon cubes, rusks, etc.), all for months and at room temperature.
On the contrary, olive and vegetable oils soften and damage the product because they are too rich in mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
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Rich In Saturated Fat
From a healthful perspective, palm oil isn’t suggested because it is wealthy in immersed fat.
According to a realistic perspective, it is to have stayed away from it. Its development is the primary driver of deforestation in Southeast Asia: it requires many hectares of land, is frequently consumed ahead of time, and thus jeopardizes the nearby biological system.
The US Ecological Insurance Organization (EPA) has prohibited palm oil from the rundown of green powers, as its outflows don’t meet the carbon impression decrease limits for biofuels. Palm oil, in this manner, causes an exceptionally significant expense from a biological and environmental perspective. The Indonesian and Malaysian (and other) rainforests are starting to follow through on a significant expense.
The Massive Production Of Palm Oil At The Origin Of The Destruction Of Indonesian Forests
Preferred by industrialists for its low cost (cheap agricultural labor, cheap land) and its chemical properties. This product is, however, the origin of massive deforestation in Indonesia.
- The equivalent of a forest football field disappears every 15 seconds.
- Almost half of Indonesia’s forests have already been destroyed to plant oil palms.
Such industrial practices deprive many animals of their natural environment and accelerate the disappearance of endangered species. But these industrial practices also weigh heavily in the climate crisis. In years and years, this deforestation has made Indonesia the third biggest producer of ozone-harming substances, behind China and the US. The disaster is not only local.
- Indonesian forests represent about 10% of all tropical forests and cover over 105 million hectares.
- According to the European Community, Indonesia had already lost in 2001 more than 40 million hectares of forests during the last 30 years, the equivalent of Germany and the Netherlands combined.
While the current rate of deforestation is 2.5 million hectares per year (i.e. 25,000 km2, almost the surface of Belgium), this rate is accelerating from year to year. Forecasts predict a doubling of global demand in 2030.
What To Do, Then?
What can we do to fight at our level against this ecological disaster? We can already target our purchases by verifying that:
- Palm oil is not included in the composition of the products we buy
- And by doing without food products likely to contain it, moreover very often not recommended for health.
The ingredient is so diffused that it becomes difficult to identify. Product labels seldom state that it is palm oil but speak more vaguely of ‘ vegetable fats’. Avoid products containing vegetable fats and:
- Prefer those without palm oil
- Prepare your products
Thus, the environment and health will be preserved.
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