The disastrous effects of palm oil
Palm oil is a vegetable fat derived from oil-palm’s thick jacket.
Initially it was planted in West-Africa, but it can flourish anywhere if it is
in a warm atmosphere. Nowadays, it is planted across Africa, Asia, North and
South America, without using sustainable measures. Palm oil appears in a vast
amount of artificial foods, sweets, cleaning agents and cosmetic products,
approximately in 40-50% of household products in countries such as the United
States or England. Regarding every aspect, the use of palm oil is damaging: it can
be held accountable for several environmental problems, such as deforestation,
animal cruelty, habitat decrease and climate change. The massive destruction of
natural forests not only emits huge quantities of smoke into the atmosphere,
but pushes species such as the orangutan to extinction. Also, the establishment of palm oil plantations is often promoted as a way of
bringing development to poor, rural regions, but locals earn barely enough
income to survive and support their families.
According to Say No To Palm Oil, every hour an
area the size of 300 football fields of Indonesia
and Malaysia is cleared in the rainforests to give free vent to palm oil
production. The elimination of forests and burning invaluable timber causes the
emitting of huge quantities of smoke into the atmosphere. Plants, trees and
other organisms produce glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water by the
use of light as an only source of energy. This chemical process is called
photosynthesis. As a result, the elimination of forests in the concerned areas
causes the increase of air pollution, since less carbon dioxide is cleared from
the air due to shrinking forests. The development of palm oil is also associated
with land erosion or the pollution of rivers. The roots of rainforest trees
help in balancing the soil, thus the removal of forests contributes to land
erosion and after a heavy rainfall it can become an everyday issue especially
in Borneo and Sumatra.
Currently, a third of all mammal species in Indonesia
are known to be critically endangered as a result of the unsustainable
development of palm oil, swiftly destroying the natural habitats of the
endangered species. One animal in particular is now widely acknowledged as the
symbol of deforestation, particularly in the areas of Borneo and Sumatra, the
orangutan. Since they share over 97% of our DNA, they are considered as one of
our closest relatives. These incredible creatures share the same intellect as a
5-to-6 year old child with the skills of learning sign language or undoing
bolts, yet supposedly 6-12 orangutans are slaughtered each day, often in cruel
ways. Usually trees fell on them or they are crushed by logging machines.
Moreover, plantation owners often place a bounty on the head of these primates,
since they occasionally come round their territory. Pushing the species to
extinction, 90% of the orangutan’s natural habitat has been destroyed. According
to the WWF, if nothing changes, these beautiful creatures could be extinct
within the next 3-5years. As a matter of fact, orangutans play a vital role in
keeping up the health of the ecosystem. For instance, the spread of several
types of rainforest seeds in Indonesia can only be germinated once passed
through a gut of an orangutan. Sadly, over 50,000 orangutans have already been
killed in the last two decades. In addition, there are over 300,000 different animals in the jungles, most of which are
killed and displaced during the process of deforestation. The development of
palm oil increases accessibility of animals to poachers and wildlife smugglers,
who capture and sell them as pets, force them into zoos, use them for
experiments or kill them for their body parts. Other animals that suffer from
the consequences of palm oil increase include species like the Sumatran Tiger,
Sumatran Rhinoceros or the Pygmy Elephant.
While palm oil production causes real harm to the environment, it provides
employment for people in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, this goes hand in hand
with some destructive effects on groups of people. Since the government’s main
interests include profit, they sell lands owned by indigenous people to
corporations. Losing their property is one issue out of many. Indigenous people
also have to face such devastating impacts as child labour in Indonesia and
Malaysia. Children are made to carry loads of heavy fruit, and spend hours
every day bent over collecting fruit from the plantation floor. They often suffer
from heat exhaustion, cuts and bruises caused by the hard work. If that would
not be enough, children also receive little or no pay at all for their efforts.
Unluckily, locals often have to realize that they have no other choice but to
become plantations workers, since the lack of other opportunities.
Although the issues listed above are quite severe, there is still hope.
There is a possibility of the production of a sustainable palm oil. Though many
environmentalists and organizations are sceptical about the topic, it might
work. The main idea is to be able to produce palm oil without further
deforestation, animal cruelty and harm of people. The RSPO’s (Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil) aim is to merge shareholders from the palm oil industry. According
to Kodas, RSPO is currently the biggest non-profit organisation dealing with
the present issue, though it does not ban the destruction of rainforests.
Fortunately, not everyone has to join non-profit organizations to make a
difference. By checking out the ingredients on purchased products, it can be
easily avoided to buy goods that contain palm oil. It is important to remember
that palm oil is not just destructive considering the environment and wildlife,
but it is also harmful for your health.
Works Cited
"Palm Oil." Say No To Palm Oil | What's The Issue. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Kodas, Michael. “How did palm oil become such a
problem – and what can we do about it?”
Ensia.com, 3 November, 2014
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