Most of the world’s oil palm trees are grown on a couple of islands in Malaysia and Indonesia – islands with the most biodiverse tropical forests found on Earth. The problem is that palm oil companies are clearing out ancient forests like these, to plant the highly lucrative oil palm trees. They often use slash-and-burn methods, which cause plants to die, and animals to lose their natural habitat. Sustainable palm oil is more expensive to produce, and purchasers of palm oil—from cosmetic manufacturers to food companies—have traditionally been indifferent toward where their palm oil is sourced. But this is changing: in the first two quarters of 2014 demand for sustainable palm oil has shot up 65 percent, totaling 1.1 million metric tons so far this year. Hopefully this foreshadows what the future holds for sustainable palm oil.
Sustainable palm oil sales skyrocket
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