RPI’s EcoEd Research GroupMiddle School Research Program

Spring 2012

PALM OIL

(Bridgat.com)

By: GRACE MORTON

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INTRODUCTION

A local woman woke up today and washed her hair with Johnson’s shampoo and conditioner. Then she put on makeup- Revlon lipstick and Great Lash mascara. Then she ate breakfast –toast with Nutella and Cheerios. Then she fed her dog with Purina dog food. For lunch, she ate a Jif All Natural peanut butter sandwich along with a pre-packaged Rice Crispy treat and some Oreos. Later on, she had a Table Talk apple pie and some Flipz chocolate covered pretzels for a snack. A friend invited her over for some coffee, and gave the woman a Hostess twinkie. This woman is any orangutan’s nemesis. She has used fifteen products containing palm oil- and the day is only half over.

Palm oil is an ingredient in thousands of everyday products that many people don’t even think about consuming. One reason we should be concerned about palm oil being consumed at such a very high rate is because of the deforestation for palm oil plantations. This loss of habitat results in a loss of biodiversity and the Indonesian environment and people are suffering. At this time many consumers don’t realize there is an issue with palm oil, and/or don’t know they are using it because products are poorly labeled. These same consumers don’t even realize they are eating it, or that there are serious environmental consequences to their consumption. This overconsumption is putting many very important species on the brink of extinction. Even boycotting isn’t a great solution, because it will just be replaced by another oil that may be even more destructive. Is there any hope for orangutans, tigers, rhinos, and elephants? Stakeholders include the animals, Indonesian locals, consumers, and the companies destroying Indonesia.

BODY

It is an important thing to know what palm oil is. Most people who have heard of palm oil but not deeply researched it think that it is tapped from the tree, similar to maple syrup. This is not true. The oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm tree. An oil palm tree can continue giving fruit for twenty to thirty years; however, the fruit is all that is used. The rest of the tree is just wasted; usually burned away. Scientists are working on making recycled energy out of the leaves, skin of the fruit and the rest of the tree so less is wasted, (Randall 2007) For now harvesting is an environmentally damaging process.

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Oil Palm Plantation (Yorath n.d.)

Cleared area of Forest for Palm Plantation (Anon. n.d.)

Palm oil is a big problem. 1.8 million hectares of the oil palm tree were chopped down for palm oil in 2005. This was more than ever before (Palm Oil Action Group 2011). The oil is used in about half of common household products such as food, shampoo, and cosmetics, and is at an all time high consumption rate. Sadly, the significant loss of habitat is driving many species to extinction. The species include rhinoceros, banteng (wild ox), barking deer, giant flying squirrel, three kinds of monkey, and clouded leopard. Three of the most endangered species are (Sumatran) tigers, (Asian) elephant, and (Sumatran and Bornean) orangutans. (Brown and Jacobsen 2005)

There were 300,000 Bornean orangutans in nineteen hundred. 97% died in the 20th century. Sumatran orangutans only have 10,000 square miles left to live on. This is about the size of Vermont. It would not take a very long time to destroy that. At the current rate of deforestation, the remaining habitat will only last a few more years. Orangutans and other animals in the area can’t hold on for much longer. (Brown and Jacobsen 2005)

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(Animalspedia.com)

Orangutang

Another effected animal is the Sumatran tiger. A solitary tiger, with the exception of those females that are accompanied by several cubs, needs twenty to thirty square miles of land. (WWF n.d.) They feed on large prey, as in one hundred to four hundred fifty pound animals. Some examples are crocodiles and other reptiles, along with the occasional other predator like a leopard, so there also must be enough land in the tiger’s territory to hunt. A male tiger’s range is slightly larger because it will overlap with several females. There needs to be room for four or five tigers in an area at least 100 square miles or the species will die out due to lack of reproduction or lack of space. (Brown and Jacobsen 2005), 97% of all tigers have also disappeared in the past 100 years due to palm oil. Because each tiger needs twenty to thirty square miles of land to themselves, the territory that supports the few that remain won’t last long if deforestation keeps up. Borneo (the area of Indonesia, Malaysia, and several other small affected countries) will be mostly gone by 2020.

(Ness 2006)

Sumatran Tiger

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One thing that impacts the animals greatly is forest fires. A single forest fire set by humans to clear land for a palm oil plantation killed over eight thousand orangutans. (Corley 2008) In Indonesia, there are lots of forest fires to clear land for palm oil plantations. In 1997, a forest fire went out of control. Over eight thousand orangutans died. (Brown and Jacobsen 2005) Elephants trampled houses in their flee from the flames and were legally shot even though they were and are endangered.

(anon 2008)

Asian ElephantThe houses that were trampled would have been lost in the fire anyway. The flames were several miles away and humans whose houses were trampled by frightened elephants were about to leave. At the rate we are going, orangutans will be extinct by 2030 (Palm Oil Action Group 2011). Many other species – tigers, rhinoceros, elephants, gorillas, clouded leopards – will follow.

Indonesia is the earth’s leading source for palm oil, and clears 5,000 hectares a day. A hectare is about 2.5 acres, so that is about 12,500 acres a day. Indonesia, a poor country three times the size of Texas, could not ignore the benefit of producing palm oil. It is the cheapest edible oil, selling at only $555 a ton, making it the edible oil of choice for most of the world. To keep up with the demand, plantations need more land for more trees for more deforestation. At this time Indonesia emits more carbon based greenhouse gasses than any other country aside from China and the United States. Palm oil represents 30% of the world’s edible oil (Block 2010). A director of WWF Heart of Borneo Initiation, Adam Tomasek, argues about how harvesting is affecting everyone and everything that lives. “It is not only important locally, not only important regionally, but is an extremely important factor to the approach to global climate change.” (WWF n.d.) Deforesting Borneo will destroy a large and important reservoir of carbon. Carbon reservoirs (such as oceans, rain forests, and tundra) are important as a place to ‘lock up’ carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere and limiting the concentration of this key greenhouse gas. Adam Tomasek also states, “These are not only vast

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forest landscapes which are home to the species such as orangutans or elephants, rhinos, but they’re also one of the globally most important reservoirs of carbon.” (Templin 2011) We need to keep the carbon in the forests and carbon reservoirs by NOT burning the forests.

Experts debate whether or not it is safe to clear areas that have previously been used as plantations. Herakles farm is an area where there is a proposition to deforest for palm oil. It is surrounded by protected areas and has been deforested before, but all evidence of that is gone. (Hance 2012 and Lovera 2003)

If economy was the only important factor in anything, Indonesia would be lucking out. It isn’t, however; the environment matters too, and it matters more. An Indonesian field supervisor says that “It’s a good job with a steady income, although it comes with a personal toll.” The toll is loss of environment. Going to work every day knowing what you are doing to the environment and destroying the forests anyway must be very difficult. Indonesia should stop the harvesting, but then it will once again be an exceptionally poor country. The country was so poor that it was willing to give up some of its best natural resources to get money. It is still a very poor country, but palm oil is working on that.

BiofuelThe previous discussion showed the hazards associated with palm oil production. Palm oil wouldn’t be in demand if there weren’t uses for it. A large portion of the palm oil produced is used in food products, but there are other uses for it. Another substance palm oil is used in is biodiesel, and biofuel, but there isn’t much difference between the two. Biodiesel and biofuel are used as substitutes for gasoline. There are other oils that can be used to make biofuel. (Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society)

These gasoline alternatives can be great for the environment in areas where palm oil is cheap and easy to obtain. (Brown and Jacobsen 2005) Unfortunately we have to look beyond the advantages here in the developed nations and consider the global impact of its use in biofuel. If palm oil becomes a major input to biofuel then it will be even more attractive for palm oil producers, further speeding the damage and negative trend in that area of the world where it is produced.

Human Health

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Besides the environmental concerns, there are also human health issues surrounding palm oil consumption. Palm oil is in everything, but within it is a lot of polyunsaturated fat – a nasty trans fat that is anything but good for you. We are consuming trans fat and it’s not healthy for us. Trans fat makes people who frequently consume it fat. Being overweight is not only embarrassing but people who are overweight also tend to have high cholesterol and are more likely to have heart problems and diabetes.

(anon 2008)

Trans Fat & Palm Oil Labels

Many organizations in Indonesia along with Australia, the Federal Department of Agriculture in the United States, and the whole rest of the world, are working to do a more efficient job of labeling palm oil. Many products contain so many ingredients, such as palm oil, that are not on the ingredients list. In addition if people want to avoid eating oil, they will not be able to see that it is on some poorly labeled products.

It’s important to know if products contain palm oil because it is beneficial to one’s health to avoid palm oil. Avoiding polyunsaturated fat will not be easy unless you know certain products that are high in it – such as palm oil. Labeling each and every ingredient in a food product is important. Caring companies make sure that no ingredients are forgotten. Poor labeling can also be very dangerous to individuals that are allergic to palm oil. It is not usually something people are allergic to, which is one of the reasons for not being more thorough and including it on labels.

Since it isn’t always labeled properly, consumers need to remain vigilant and aware in order to avoid purchase of any palm oil containing product. We need to understand labels, and look for products that do not contain palm oil to use as part of our daily routines, such as personal care, food/drink and household cleaning. Here are some alternatives for the woman that was mentioned earlier that used products containing palm oil (animalspedia.com n.d.).

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PRODUCT CURRENTLY USED ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTJOHNSONs Baby Shampoo Proctor & Gamble made sustainablyColgate Palmolive Conditioner Proctor & Gamble made sustainablyBODY SHOP soap IVORY made sustainablyMakeup, Great Lash Mascara, Revlon Lipstick

LOREAL products are made sustainably

Grilled Cheese with VELVETA cheese Locally made Cheese on Local breadNutella There is a Nutella Variety without the

palm oil.All Natural JIF Peanut Butter Skippy does not contain palm oil.Pre Packaged Rice Crispy Treat Use homemade rice crispy treatsOreo Use two slabs of crunchy chocolate and

some frosting!FLIPZ Chocolate Covered Pretzels Dip a organic pretzel in sustainably

produced chocolateTable Talk Individual prepared Pie Make a pie with locally grown fruitTwinkie Fill homemade cake with your own

frosting (butter from a local farm)PEDIGREE Pet Foods

This is only a partial list, but it is a big one already. The hazards associated with palm oil production and consumption make it important for all consumers to be aware of the products containing palm oil and the available alternatives.

Another factor in reducing consumption of palm oil is simple education. Reading information and knowing more is the first step. Then people need to spread the word. This can be as simple as encouraging others in their families and communities to boycott use of new products containing palm oil and begin to choose alternatives for products they already use.

Sustainable harvesting is harvesting palm oil in the same place over and over again so new forestland is not being destroyed for every crop.(Lovera 2003) As odd as it sounds, this is not the current practice. As was mentioned earlier, the whole tree may be used in the future for renewable energy.(Randal 2007) This same idea has been successfully applied to sugar cane crops grown in Brazil, where they burn useless portions of the plant to provide power to run other parts of the sugar harvesting process. (Morton 2012)

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Palm oil is still not completely good, even if it is harvested more sustainably. It still contains polyunsaturated fat. In Chicago, Ina Pinkney owns a restaurant. She has eliminated trans fat from her menu, and replaced in with Canola oil. There is little to no taste difference, and it is much better for her customer’s health. (Sugar 2007)

Call to Action

A lot can be done to make palm oil more sustainable. Herakles Farm plants trees over and over again in the same spot to prevent major deforestation.(Herakles 2010) Around the world, companies are working to label products containing palm oil better and to make more people aware of its use.

ConclusionWhen palm oil consumption goes up, animal populations go down, carbon levels go up, and the population of overweight people goes up. It s only greenish when it is used to make biofuel, and the biofuel could be greener if another oil- like corn or canola oil- was used to make it. The biofuel and economical benefits are greatly outweighed by the destructive impact on animals, carbon levels, and health risks. Organizations are working to fix the problem of improper labeling.

We are eating way too much palm oil, even though the only thing really benefiting from it is the economy, because it’s cheap. The whole environment is suffering, even as far away as the coral reefs with red algae blooms. It contributes to global warming by releasing carbon into the atmosphere when trees are burned. It contributes to loss of biodiversity and finding medicines will be more difficult to find medicine due to loss of berries that have the potential to be used as medicine. There are many lost scientific findings already.

The local woman learned about palm oil and changed her eating habits. In the morning, she washes her hair with Proctor & Gamble shampoo and conditioner. She switched to L’Oreal makeup. She uses a Nutella variety with no palm oil and a more sustainable cereal. Instead of Jif peanut butter or Grilled cheese with Velveeta, she now uses Skippy peanut butter and locally made cheddar. She makes her own rice crispy treats and instead of Oreos spreads frosting on organic crunchy chocolate. Instead of Flipz, she switched to dipping organic pretzels in chocolate. She makes her own apple pies and for twinkies fills cupcakes with

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locally made frosting of a similar consistency to that of a twinkie. That little dog quit eating it’s Purina so she switched it to Alpo.

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References Cited

Animalspedia.com Photograph of Orangutan http://www.bridgat.com/files/Crude_Palm_Oil_in_stock.jpg

Anonymous2012 Photograph of Herakles Farm from Helicopter

www.heraklescapital.com/docs/PressRelease_%206_%2015_2011.pdf

Anonymous, John Picture of Trans Fat Label, and Woman looking at Labels2008 http://www.zimbio.com/Trans+fats/pictures/2/Trans+Fat+Photo+Album

Block, Ben writes for Eye on Earth, an online news service for World Watch Institute2010 Global Palm Oil Demand Fueling Deforestation

www.worldwatch.org/node/6059

Brown, Ellie and Jacobson, Michael F. 2005 Cruel Oil, Center for Science In the Public Interest

www.cspinet.org/palm/PalmOilReport.pdf

Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society 2012 Palm Oil Crisis, www.cmzoo.org/conservation/palmOilCrisis

Cocks, Leif2010 SAY NO TO PALM OIL

www.saynotopalmoil.com/palm-oil.php#

Corley, R.H.V. 2008 How Much Palm Oil Do We Need

ecoed.wikispaces.com/file/view/How+much+palm+oil+do+we+need.pdf

Elephant Picture 2011

http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&biw=1600&bih=756&tbm=isch&tbnid=Je0b0x-qwV_hyM:&imgrefurl=http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/wallpaper/animals/photos/elephants/baby-asian-elephant/&docid=qM0j_OXo5B6

Hance, Jeremy2012 Scientists Say Massive Palm Oil Plantation will Cut the Heart out of Cameroon’s Rainforest

news.mongabay.com/2012/0315-hance_herakles_letter.html

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Herakles Capital 2010 Herakles Farms. Electronic Document.

www.heraklescapital.com/agriculture.html

Lovera, Simone 2003 Going to the Roots: Addressing the Underlying Causes of Deforestatin and Forest Degradation. Electronic Document.

www.fao.org/DOCREP/ARTICLE/WFC/XII/MS12B-E.HTM

Morton, David2012 Because I told you so

NASA Earth Observatory Sustaining Tropical Forests. Electronic Document.

earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/deforestation_update5.php

Ness, Richard – Photograph of Tiger 2006

http://jennifermarohasy.com/2006/10/a-sumatran-tiger/

Palm Oil Action Group 2011 Palm Oil Action Group Website

www.palmoilaction.org.au/environmental-impacts-of-deforestation.html

Picture of a jar of palm oil http://www.bridgat.com/files/Crude_Palm_Oil_in_stock.jpg

Randall, Caitlin2007 Carbon Market Takes Sides in Palm Oil Battle, Carbon Finance ,20 November, Electronic Document

www.carbon-financeonline.com/index.cfm?section=features&id=10864 &action= view&return=home

Sugar, Fit2007 Ditching Trans Fat: The Benefits Exceed the Cost

www.fitsugar.com/Ditching-Trans-Fat-Benefits-Exceed-Cost-112836

Video produced by: Templin, Jacob2011 Indonesia's Palm-Oil Dilemma: Cash In or Fight for the Forests?

www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,1054675525001_2085061,00.html

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World Wildlife FoundationPalm Oil: Environmental Impacts. Electronic Document.

wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/palm_oil/environmental_impacts/

Yorath, Sylvia Jane Picture of Palm Oil Plantationhttp://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/palm_oil/environmental_impacts/

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