Go Green Charleston Discussions

[magellan]

Back in 2006 I set a goal for myself that at the time seemed obvious for someone who thought of themselves as an environmentalist- Know where the items I buy come from and at what cost to that area. Two years later and I am still clueless about a good many products, but one has defiantly changed my life -Palm Oil. I got exposed to the issue not in my undergrad conservation classes or even in my Grad level environmental biology classes, surprisingly my brief employment at Zoo Atlanta exposed me to the drama behind both Palm Oil and Soy production. I attended a small lunch hosted by the Ape keepers who had been dealing with the issue and lack of public education for some time. It was news to me and I set out to learn more. Now I share my findings with anyone who wants to know (and some who don’t).

The thing I hear most when I say I don’t use/eat anything with Palm Oil is “what’s that? Is it bad for you?” The next most common thing, “I totally understand it’s horrible that they are destroying the Palm forest.” Ok people The Palm Oil Crisis is not about the destruction of the Palm forests… Sigh… it’s about the destruction of the natural forest to establish Palm Plantations. Now that that is all cleared up lets move on. Palm Oil is practically everywhere and over the past few years the demand for it has sky rocketed. Supply and demand kicked in and now we have problem. Briefly, the highest producer of Palm Oil is Indonesia where you find some amazing and totally unique life forms: Orangutans, Elephants, Rhinoceroses, Clouded Leopards, Sunbears and many more. The on going rapid deforestation of these areas to establish Palm Plantations is ecologically devastating. Try searching Palm Oil Issues in your free time; there is a lot of information out there both good and bad. I enjoy WWF (http://www.worldwildlife.org/) and The Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (http://www.rspo.org/).

In short, I am not preaching for everyone to stop consuming Palm Oil (but that would rock) I am just asking you to read the labels know where it comes from and at what cost, then make a choice. Countries around the world are sacrificing their environment and way of life to meet our massive consumer demands; I think we owe it to them to know what we buy when we purchase our products. That said, I think you will be surprised how much palm oil you have in your house right now and never knew (keep in mind it has many names- is it says Palm(anything) it has palm oil). I also encourage you to support companies that use sustainable palm oil. If it’s not labeled on the product then just ask the company where there Palm Oil is from (this may take some time). Chances are if they don’t know where their palm oil is from its not sustainable.

Thanks for reading! Jenn

[OMcooking]

In my experience it seems that hydrogentated oils are what are everywhere. Palm oil and coconut oils are not used as much as they used to be used because of the lobbying for use of hydrogenated oils in their place. Palm oil is a very healthy oil for the body, and albeit that there are likely places that are cultivating palms for this purpose and could be disrupting habitats, I think it's important to look at all sides of the issue, and remember that the alternatives that we might use in it's place (i.e. hydrogenated oils) are poison, and they are killing us. There must be a balance somewhere!

That balance lies in using companies that use sustainable practices and reading labels. So don't avoid palm oil for hydrogenated oils, but do seek sustainable coconut and palm oils. Your body will thank you!
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Chef Ken Immer
www.OM-cooking.com
easeful, peaceful, useful