Palm Oil: The Hidden Cost Behind Everyday Products

Palm oil: praised for its efficiency and versatility, yet criticized for its catastrophic environmental and human costs.

The global demand for palm oil has surged over the past decades—bringing serious consequences for rainforests, biodiversity, and local communities. But the solution isn’t as simple as avoiding it altogether. In this post, we’ll explore the complexity of palm oil production, the impacts it causes, and what you can do to help build a more ethical future.

Palm Oil: A Miracle Crop with a Hidden Price

Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm tree, originally native to West Africa. It’s now the most widely used vegetable oil globally, thanks to its high yield, low cost, and versatile properties. It’s solid at room temperature, stable at high heat, and nearly odorless—making it ideal for everything from food and cosmetics to biofuels and detergents.

You’ll find palm oil in:

• Margarine, chocolate, cookies, chips, ready-made dough
• Body lotions, lipsticks, soaps, shampoo, and cleaning products
• Paints, candles, pharmaceuticals, and even biofuels

Worldwide, production reached over 77 million tonnes in 2022—and demand is still growing. Indonesia and Malaysia are the main producers, together accounting for 85% of the global supply. Since 1990, global plantation areas have increased fivefold.

Countries like Germany, Australia, the UK, and the United States use large amounts of palm oil, with significant portions going to energy production, followed by the food industry and animal feed. This shows the global reliance on palm oil across sectors—not just consumer goods.

The True Cost of Palm Oil Production

This massive expansion brings with it a complex web of consequences. Vast monocultures and large-scale deforestation destroy critical habitats, accelerate biodiversity loss, and contribute dramatically to carbon emissions. At the same time, Indigenous communities are being displaced — losing access to their ancestral lands, traditional food sources, and ways of life.

These environmental and social costs are compounded by frequent reports of human rights abuses and exploitative labor conditions across many palm oil plantations.

Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss

To make space for plantations, vast areas of rainforest are cleared—often through deliberate and illegal slash-and-burn techniques. This destroys entire ecosystems, releases massive amounts of CO₂, and wipes out habitats for countless species, including critically endangered ones like the Sumatran tiger, Bornean orangutan, and pygmy elephant.

In comparison to intact forests, palm oil plantations sequester less than half the amount of carbon. Monoculture plantations also provide no real biodiversity, destabilizing the ecosystem further.

Climate Impact: A Carbon Time Bomb

Tropical peatlands represent just 3% of Earth’s surface but store twice as much carbon as all global forests combined. When these areas are drained and cleared—often for palm oil plantations—they release immense amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

The consequences include:

• Extremely high CO₂ emissions from clearing and burning
• Long-term reduction in carbon sequestration capacity
• Increased global warming potential

This is why these processes are often referred to as “climate bombs.”

Displacement of Indigenous Communities

Indigenous communities often live in or near areas targeted for palm oil expansion. They rely on forests for food, medicine, cultural practices, and spiritual identity. These communities are often:

• Forced off their land without proper compensation
• Deceived into surrendering their territory with false promises
• Exposed to environmental degradation and pollution, which destroys their livelihoods

Even when legal challenges are made, the process is long, costly, and rarely favors the displaced.

Exploitation and Human Rights Abuses

Palm oil plantations often rely on a vulnerable labor force:

• Migrant workers without documentation or legal protection
• Children working in hazardous conditions
• Women facing wage discrimination and unsafe work environments

These conditions can include wage theft, debt bondage, no access to healthcare or education, and forced isolation. In some regions, this amounts to modern slavery.

The Challenge with Alternatives

Palm oil has the highest yield of any vegetable oil, producing up to 4 times more oil per hectare than alternatives like soybean or sunflower oil. Replacing it entirely would:

• Shift the burden to other ecosystems
• Require more land, more deforestation, and more water and chemicals

The solution is not complete elimination, but responsible production, transparent supply chains, and conscious consumption.

A Path Toward Sustainable Palm Oil

Certifications for Ethical and Sustainable Palm Oil

Several certification schemes aim to regulate and improve sustainability in the palm oil sector. While none are perfect, they establish minimum environmental and social criteria and provide a framework for improvement.

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RSPO – Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

Founded in 2004, the RSPO is a multi-stakeholder initiative involving companies, NGOs, and producers with the goal of transforming the palm oil industry.

Core Criteria:

• No development on peatlands or high carbon stock land
• No deforestation of primary or ecologically sensitive forests
• Protection of endangered species and biodiversity
• Ban on fire for land clearing
• Respect for Indigenous land rights and local communities
• No child labor; access to education for workers' families
• Regular audits by accredited third-party inspectors

Relevance: RSPO is the most widely recognized palm oil certification system globally.

Despite its reach, the RSPO faces criticism for voluntary membership, weak enforcement, and alleged conflicts of interest due to the dominance of corporate stakeholders. It sets minimum standards, not organic or regenerative ones, and has been slow to respond to violations.

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ISCC Plus – International Sustainability and Carbon Certification

The ISCC Plus scheme covers all agricultural raw materials and promotes sustainable land use and supply chains. It is internationally accepted and used in both food and energy sectors.

Core Criteria:

• Protection of high conservation value areas and carbon-rich ecosystems
• Sustainable farming methods and soil conservation
• Water protection and emission reduction
• Respect for labor rights and local communities
• Legal compliance and supply chain transparency

Relevance: ISCC Plus is applied in more than 100 countries and accepted by EU authorities and global retailers.

ISCC Plus is praised for its holistic scope and traceability, but is less known among consumers. Its effectiveness depends heavily on proper audits and local enforcement.

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RSB – Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials

Originally created for biofuels, the RSB now certifies a variety of products derived from biomass, including food ingredients and packaging materials.

Core Criteria:

• Legal compliance at national and international levels
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint
• No land grabs; respect for tenure and land use rights
• Human rights, labor protections, and no forced labor
• Conservation of biodiversity and water resources
• Continuous improvement and stakeholder engagement

Relevance: The RSB is respected for its science-based and multi-stakeholder approach, and recognized by the UN and leading environmental institutions.

While RSB is a gold standard in sustainability, its focus is more on upstream supply chains and less present in consumer product labeling. It's powerful, but largely invisible to the average shopper.

Policy Changes and Legal Accountability

Policy frameworks need to go beyond voluntary action. While the EU, Germany, and a few others have started creating supply chain laws, broader global participation is needed.

What’s Needed Internationally:

• Mandatory deforestation-free import laws in major economies (e.g. US, UK, Australia)
• International treaties on ethical commodity production
• Legal recognition of Indigenous land rights
• Support systems for smallholder farmers
• Transparent reporting standards for multinational corporations

Advocacy from consumers, NGOs, and climate activists plays a key role in shaping these laws across borders.

Conscious Consumer Choices

Each of us has influence through our daily decisions. Here's how to make a difference:

• Choose alternatives: Look for products that use no palm oil or use certified sustainable sources. Local oils like sunflower or rapeseed may be suitable in some regions.
• Reduce your consumption: Buy less processed food, opt for bulk purchases, and prefer multipurpose products to reduce waste.
• Prevent food waste: Use what you buy. Wasting palm oil products increases environmental harm.
• Buy certified products: When palm oil is necessary, choose items with reliable certification like RSPO, ISCC, or RSB.
• Raise awareness: Share what you’ve learned. Encourage conversations that inspire mindful consumer behavior.

Petitions & Public Engagement

Petitions and public action can create real momentum for change. Internationally relevant petitions and campaigns include:

• Greenpeace – EU Supply Chain Law
• Rainforest Rescue – Current Global Petitions
• SumOfUs – Palm Oil Campaigns
• Friends of the Earth International
• Global Witness

How to amplify your voice:

• Sign and share verified petitions
• Write to your local representatives
• Participate in climate marches or awareness campaigns
• Support organizations working on deforestation and human rights

Speak Up: Demand Ethical Palm Oil from Brands

Change doesn’t only happen in boardrooms or parliaments—it begins with everyday voices like yours. As a consumer, you hold more influence than you might think. One of the most direct ways to make an impact is by contacting your favorite brands and asking them to commit to sourcing certified sustainable palm oil.

If enough people ask the same questions—“Do you use sustainable palm oil?” “Is it certified?”—companies will start to listen. It sends a clear message: consumers care about ethical sourcing, transparency, and protecting people and the planet.

You don’t need to be an expert or write the perfect message. What matters is that you raise your voice.

Here’s a simple message you can adapt and send to companies whose products you use regularly:

Signs of Progress

Despite the challenges, there’s growing momentum worldwide:

• In Germany, over 80% of palm oil used is certified sustainable
• The EU is implementing new regulations on deforestation-free imports
• Australia, the UK, and the US are facing growing public pressure for similar legislation
• More companies globally are improving supply chain transparency
• Emerging markets in Asia and Latin America are joining dialogues on ethical sourcing

The road is long, but awareness and advocacy are shifting global standards in the right direction.

Conclusion: Your Power as a Consumer

A future without palm oil may not be realistic—but a future with sustainable, ethical palm oil is possible.

By:

• Choosing alternatives where feasible
• Supporting certified sustainable products
• Avoiding waste and unnecessary consumption
• Raising awareness and calling for change

— you make a real impact.

Every purchase you make is a vote—for the kind of planet you want to live on.

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