The demand for palm oil is very high because it is found in many things we use on a daily. Palm oil is derived from palm kernels and the oil is the most used vegetable oil on the planet. The industry was valued at a whopping $62 billion in 2016.
Experts say the palm oil industry is a big contributor to mass deforestation around the world. They are mostly cultivated in tropical rain forests found in Africa, Asia, and America.
Africans use a lot of palm oil in their cooking and have use for the other parts of the palm tree as well. For instance, the felled tree produces palm wine, the frond is used for brooms, and the bark of the tree for lighting fire.
There are many environmentalists who advocate for sustainable methods of cultivating palm trees which translate into sustainable measure of producing this widely sought-after ingredient.
Some people might not have heard of palm oil or know about the industry, however, here are the many forms for which it appears on your consumables.
Some labels show it as “Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide.”
Others have it appearing as “Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol.”
Here are some of the products that contain palm oil that you probably didn’t know.
