Cadbury has admitted to the use of palm oil in their products, an ingredient responsible for extensive deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia.

But a high frequency of consumer protests forced the chocolate manufacturer to announce a return to cocoa butter today.

Palm oil is reportedly used in one in every ten supermarket products and the deforestation required results in the murder of 50 Orangutans a week.

However, Cadbury’s move to palm oil in products has spotlighted the deforestation cause and informed consumers of the negative environmental effects.

Auckland Zoo have campaigned against palm oil since 2002, and their Conservation officer Peter Fraser noted on the Cadbury case: “It’s been fantastic in that it’s bought this to the public’s attention. A few years ago no one even knew they were eating palm oil let alone in at least every 10 products.”

“The biggest threat is deforestation and the biggest reason for deforestation is palm plantations,” Mr Fraser explained. “Our concern is the pace at which the forest is being replaced. We’re going to have orangutans and all the other species including elephants, tigers and rhinos that exist in those forests functionally extinct within 10 years.”

WWF report that Palm Oil is the highest yielding oil and produces 3.6 tonnes per hectare, and the product derived from palm fruits is thus the cheapest cooking oil in the world. In production vast land space is deforested and replanted, and in its wake leaves desolate terrain leaving 90 percent of wildlife without a habitat.

Alternatives

Since Cadbury’s admittance a Facebook group was created in boycotting their products and gathered over 3000 members. However palm oil is widely used in products such as cosmetics, shaving creams and sweets, often named as ‘vegetable oil’ and is thusly dubbed the ‘invisible ingredient’ making products containing the oil hard to decipher.

Consequently Auckland Zoo staff have put together a shopping list of products which do not contain palm oil, called the orangutan shopping list. It includes brands such as Heinz, Johnson’s, Kellogs and Nestle.

There is an option for Palm oil to be sourced sustainability but it results in lower yields and buyers have been reluctant to date. WWF vice president of Agriculutre David McLaughlin explains: “This sluggish demand from palm oil buyers, such as supermarkets, food and cosmetic manufacturers, could undermine the success of sustainability efforts and threatens the remaining natural tropical forests of Southeast Asia, as well as other forests where oil palm is set to expand, such as the Amazon.”

Mr Fraser of Auckland Zoo proposed that the best method of preservation of Indonesian tropical forests, of which consumers could encourage by boycotting palm oil products.

Via Stuff

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