Did you know that half of the products in supermarkets may contain palm oil?

Palm Oil in Everyday Life

Palm oil is one of the most consumed vegetable oils in the world. Palm oil can be obtained by pressing palm fruits. Where is palm oil used? In addition to common foods such as instant noodles, it is also used in industries and other fields.

Palm oil is found in our common fried foods and snacks because it has very good properties for food: long shelf life and high cost performance. For example, palm oil can be found in chocolate, candy, and some margarines that everyone loves.

Many daily chemicals contain palm oil, such as skin care products, lipstick, shampoo, various shower gels, laundry detergents, etc. When you walk into a supermarket, perhaps more than half of the products on the shelves contain palm oil.

Through big data statistics, comparing the usage of several different vegetable oils in the world, palm oil has always been far ahead. Because it is a highly efficient oil crop, it takes 0.26 hectares of land to produce 1 ton of palm oil, but it actually takes 2 hectares of land to produce 1 ton of soybean oil of the same weight. Therefore, 10% of the world's land area is used for palm oil cultivation, but it produces more than 1/3 of the global oil consumption.

The impact of palm oil

The green boxes in the picture below are the areas in the world suitable for palm oil cultivation. For the countries in these areas, oil palm is a very important livelihood crop that can help millions of people escape poverty.

In palm planting areas, whether it is large-scale planting in plantations or small-scale farming, it is an indispensable livelihood for local people.

In fact, the cultivation of palm trees has had a negative impact on global biodiversity. As shown in the map, many animals live in areas suitable for palm tree cultivation, many of which are at a relatively high risk of endangerment, such as orangutans, sun bears, hornbills, African elephants, chimpanzees, etc.

Why is sustainable palm oil important for the environment?

If palm oil is planted in the traditional way, it may lead to the loss of peatlands. Peatlands are huge carbon storage spaces, and their carbon storage capacity may be equivalent to the sum of all other places, so if peatlands are destroyed, it will cause very big problems. Traditional planting methods lead to deforestation and loss of biodiversity, land expansion, etc., and these also lead to the intensification of some conflicts in the original society.

If we use sustainable palm oil for production, we can produce palm oil in a way that does not exacerbate economic and social environmental conflicts.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil was established in 2004, creating a communication and exchange platform for seven different stakeholders from the entire palm oil supply chain, including environmental organizations, social organizations, non-governmental organizations, etc. that are concerned about palm oil issues. As of today, RSPO has more than 6,000 member units.

RSPO is an international voluntary standard-setting organization that covers production areas, independent smallholders, and the supply chain from production areas to end products. On the one hand, the production area standards must comply with the concept of sustainable planting, follow the principles of not deforestation and not planting new crops on peatlands, etc. On the other hand, they must comply with smallholder standards to reduce the risk of land threatening forests, wildlife, and biodiversity . By collecting data on the benefits of smallholders, it can be seen that about 40% of all oil palm production comes from smallholder planting, so the production status of smallholders deserves attention - through the formulation of standards, a platform for full traceability can be provided.

Why sustainable palm oil matters

Why is sustainable palm important for the environment?

First, it can prevent deforestation to a certain extent . According to the strict control of RSPO, deforestation is not allowed.

Second, it can protect wild animals . Protecting the environment actually means protecting the living environment of wild animals in the rainforest. Some derivative projects of the Sustainable Palm Oil Organization are precisely for the rescue of wild animals.

Third, it helps prevent forest fires . Sustainable oil palm planting reduces the occurrence of forest fires and the possibility of air pollution.

Fourth, it can reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions . RSPO has conducted a long-term comparative study and found that greenhouse gas emissions from oil palm trees grown in a sustainable way are 35% lower than those from traditional planting methods.

Today at the zoo I particularly want to share a story about animals – the story of Kato the orangutan.

Kato was illegally kept as a pet when he was two years old. After the Borneo Orangutan Save Foundation learned about the situation, it took him to the Nyaru Menden Rehabilitation Center. The first photo is of Kato at the rehabilitation center.

More than a decade later, Kato studied at the Orangutan Forest School in this rehabilitation center. This Orangutan Forest School is divided into different stages like ours, such as kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school, to help it master various skills to survive in the wild. In 2017, Kato was released by the foundation's staff. The staff sent it in a box to the forest to be released, which is Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park in Kalimantan, Central Borneo, Indonesia. After arriving at its new home, it has become stronger and stronger, and has now become a little leader of that forest.

RSPO is about to enter its tenth year in China, with more than 430 companies joining in. At the same time, we have also cooperated with the World Wildlife Fund and China's Food and Soil Chamber of Commerce to launch a local sustainable palm oil alliance in China, working together to promote sustainable palm oil and protect the homes of Kato and more orangutans.

In the publicity and education work for consumers, we have carried out some publicity and education interactive experience activities for consumers with the InFIT project of the Food and Soil Chamber of Commerce, and cooperated with Hongshan Zoo to carry out some orangutan protection education activities. "Forest Man" is an orangutan science video game. I felt it after playing it once - different choices lead to different endings. This game guides participants to actively think about and choose more appropriate practices, so as to bring a better future to themselves and the world around them.

The RSPO logo is one of the most recognized eco-labels in the world . The center of the label is a palm tree leaf, which means that the palm is grown sustainably. The logo also represents a commitment to sustainability and transparency , proving that businesses are protecting the environment responsibly. The RSPO logo is usually on the side or back of the packaging, and is usually used on end products. If there is a mixed word under the logo, it proves that the level of this supply chain certification is mixed.

That string of numbers is the number of the logo license. On the logo license page of the RSPO official website, you can enter the logo license number to find the company. Click on it and you can see: the annual progress report of this RSPO member, so you can understand how this member fulfills its commitment to RSPO and how to improve sustainable procurement practices.

Finally, I would like to thank Hongshan Zoo again for the invitation. I hope that everyone can contribute to protecting the environment and nature by choosing consumer products that are sustainable and friendly to the rainforest in their daily lives.