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It’s not something we commonly see in bottles on supermarket shelves, but palm oil is a popular ingredient that is used in hundreds of our favourite foods and toiletries. It’s incredibly versatile and can be used to make food products shiny, spreadable or creamy or toiletries foamy. It comes from the fruit or kernels (stones) of oil palm trees which are originally from Africa, but are now farmed in large plantations mostly across countries in South East Asia like Malaysia and Indonesia.

But why is it a problem for the environment?

Palm oil is found in so many products across the world that, to meet demand, vast areas of important native rainforest have been cut down across Asia to make room for palm oil plantations. Rainforests protect us against climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air through photosynthesis. They are also full of biodiversity and provide habitats for some very special animals like orangutans, so it’s very important that they are protected.

Thankfully, there are steps being taken to try and reduce the negative impact that the palm oil industry is having on the planet. You can now shop for sustainable palm oil products by looking out for certain badges on the packaging! We can also help by trying to avoid products that use unsustainable palm oil.

Can you identify which products you buy in a weekly shop that contain palm oil? Try our quiz below!

It can feel quite daunting when we realise just how many everyday products contain palm oil, but there are ways that we can help protect the forest and make more sustainable choices.

You may think that just avoiding palm oil all together would be the best option, but palm oil is actually one of the most efficient vegetable oils to produce. Compared with other oils like coconut or soy the yield per area is much greater in palm oil, so it’s likely that boycotting it would increase demand for these other oils and even cause greater environmental damage.

One of the best ways to help is to try and buy products that use certified sustainable palm oil. You can look out for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) badge on products and check online to see if a brand that you like is signed up the scheme. Over time the RSPO will work for:

• Fair working conditions for palm oil farmers
• Local peoples lands and rights to be respected
• There to be no clearing of primary forest
• Wildlife on plantations to be protected
• Greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced
• Industrial pollution to be minimised

However, many environmental organisations think there is a lot more than can be done to improve the palmoil industry and reduce the impact it has on the environment.

Discover more about the planet and how to protect it with the ���˿���.