The big palm oil problem

I'm an armchair activist. I don't think there is any shame in that. Using the power of social media I have learned, and am still learning about the environmental issues that are annoying the shit out of people all over the planet. So many people are now actively trying to make changes in their lives including me, and are fed up of finding out that products we have used for years are actually incredibly damaging to the planets flora and fauna. Hence this blog was born. I am hoping to tackle some issues that are close to my heart and that, in my opinion, should be close to the hearts of everybody. One of these issues is the use of palm oil in pretty much everything, and I mean everything. Think of things you use every day, consume every day. There is a good chance it contains this stuff. You may think that it can't be in these items, but in all but a few cases I assure you it is. It may not be on the ingredients list, or it may just be hidden under the title of "vegetable oil", either way IT IS EVERYWHERE.
So, what is palm oil?
Well in a nut shell, or should I say kernel? Palm oil is obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree. Oil palms can grow up to 20 metres tall and have leaves that are a massive 5 metres long. All year round the oil palm bears fruit, which means that it is pretty much constantly available. Each of these fruits contains approximately 50% oil too which makes them a hugely valuable resource for the food and non-food industries.
This is an oil palm:

Pretty isn't it?
So, what's the problem? I hear you cry. Well I shall tell you. As you are probably aware the human race doesn't have the best track record when it comes to its resources. A valuable commodity such as palm oil is saught by all and sundry for the lowest possible price, regardless of how they get it. Also the countries that produce the palm oil are very happy to accept the cash offered.
A few numbers for you, just to show you what I am talking about, I know it's dull but please bear with me if you can.
"Vegetable oil production around the world totals over 144 million tonnes per year, of which over 47 million tonnes is palm oil. Along with soy oil, palm oil makes up 60% of world production" (http://www.greenpalm.org/en/about-palm-oil/what-is-palm-oil)
I'm sure you will agree, humans use a whopping amount of this stuff!
Unfortunately these huge numbers mean a few things. Rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra are home to a wonderful array of some of the most spectacular wildlife on the planet. Here is a little list of some of these wonderful species to give you an idea.
Sumatran and Bornean orangutan, Proboscis monkey, pygmy elephant, asian rhinoceros, sumatran tiger, sunbear, gibbon, bay cat, clouded leopard, spectral tarsier, Bornean flat-headed frog, rhinoceros hornbill (it's a bird by the way), anoa, fishing cat, lar gibbon, dhole, Malayan tapir, Bornean tree shrew, Bornean bristlehead, flat-headed cat, refflesia flower, Phalaenopsis Gigantea orchid, Titan Arum flower, Bornean Pitcher plant. I'm purely naming a few. (By the way, please feel free to look these guys up on Google to see how amazing they are.)
The trouble with all this palm oil production is the dramatic effect it is having on these splendid creatures. Firstly, their habitat, plush rainforests, are being destroyed at a monumental rate to make way for the ever increasing palm oil plantations. You would think that was bad enough but NO. Secondly these plantations need roads, roads are built to keep the supply moving from plantation to consumer, but poachers and animal smugglers see these as easy access to the animals that are suffering enough already.
Horrified yet?
Try this:
Another huge issue with the increase in palm oil plantations, is smog. Great plumes of black smoke rise from the land clearing process used to make room for plantations. This is horrible stuff too. It has so far caused smog thick enough to beat a record in Singapore making it potentially life threatening to the ill and the elderly. The fumes from fires of oil palms include unusually high levels of compounds called VOCs (volatile organic compounds) These compounds combine with Nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere in sunlight to produce...ozone. Ozone is great up high in the atmosphere protecting us from damaging UV rays, but down here with us the effect is far less positive. Ozone at our level cause breathing problems and terrible damage to plant life.
Ok, now you know a little about palm oil, and the problems it comes with. So what do we do now? Well I thought the same thing and I have become determined to ask questions of our retailers and companies, to see what they are going to do about this issue and I will be posting their responses on here for you to see.
Finally for now, I just want to stress that although palm oil is a massive, massive issue environmentally, there are initiatives who are trying to create some sustainability in the palm oil industry. Of course, this most likely will never create a palm oil free World. I accept that. Rather, I am optimistic that for once, humans can use a resource responsibly, humans can think about what they are doing and work together to make palm oil as sustainable as possible.
One of the most popular initiatives is the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil or RSPO for short. I include the link here: http://www.rspo.org/
Please check it out. There won't be a test on the content, but it may help you to get a better idea of what they are trying to achieve.