Palm Oil: What is it, why is it a problem, and can it be sustainable?
This post first appeared in our weekly Make Waves Mondays email series as two separate emails on April 20 and 27, 2020. It was updated and re-shared again on April 13, 2026.
Hello hello friend!
In honor of Earth Month, today we’re gonna chat about something that probably touches more aspects of your life than you realize — palm oil.
Even if you’re not super familiar with palm oil, I’m sure you’ve heard of it before.
Palm oil is in nearly everything we consume (including some ADITO products!), and there’s a whole heck of a lot of controversy around it.
So today I want to tackle the big questions:
- What exactly is palm oil?
- Why is there controversy around using palm oil?
- Can palm oil be sustainable?
- What can we as individuals do about the problems surrounding palm oil?
So without further ado, let’s dive in 👇
What is palm oil?
Alright so let’s start with the basics, shall we?
Palm oil is a vegetable oil, much like olive oil or sunflower oil, that’s derived from the fruit of oil palm trees…and it’s in nearly everything.
From cookies to shampoo, about 50 to 60% of the stuff we consume has palm oil in it in some form. On average, every person on the planet consumes about 17.6 pounds of palm oil every year.
It’s incredibly efficient — MUCH more so than any other vegetable oil (to the tune of about 10x more efficient!). When comparing oilseed crops, oil palm only accounts for 5.5% of all land that’s cultivated for oils and fats across the globe, but it produces 32% of the total output! 😳
A single oil palm tree produces fruits every two weeks, year-round.
Meanwhile, for example, olive trees can only be harvested for about 4 months out of the year, and sunflowers can only be harvested in the fall.
And what I found super interesting is that palm oil is actually one of the healthier oils!
Apparently it’s a semi-solid at room temperature, which means that it can be used in a lot more applications than other oils because it doesn’t need to be hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated, which produces trans fats and raises cholesterol.
The more ya know! ☝
So what's the problem with palm oil?
If palm oil is so efficient, why has it been dubbed “the world’s most controversial ingredient”?
Well. Unfortunately nothing is black-and-white, especially in the sustainability space.
Soaring Production
Because palm oil is such an efficient crop and has so many different applications, it’s booming right now.
In 1960, vegetable oil production as a whole totalled about 20 million tonnes. By 2014 it had grown to 160 million tonnes — and palm oil was the largest share of that production.
In Malaysia alone, oil palm plantations grew from 65,000 hectares in 1975 to 4.8 million hectares in 2010.
Holy moly that’s a lot of growth…
And, according to a 2015 report from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), palm oil use will double by 2030 and triple by 2050.
Biodiversity and Habitat Loss
Of course, with all of this fast-growing demand comes deforestation, habitat loss, and biodiversity loss.
Oil palm grows in tropical climates, with about 85% grown in Malaysia and Indonesia. However, new plantations are popping up in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
A 2022 report from Sustainable Palm Oil Choice (an organization that brings together conservation groups and for-profit companies to improve sustainable palm oil efforts) found that about 21 million hectares across 49 different countries are currently dedicated to oil palm plantations.
From 2020 to 2023, Indonesia alone lost over 100,000 hectares (~247,000 acres) of forest cover as a result of logging and land conversion for oil palm.
That’s about the size of the greater London area…
And globally, the equivalent of about 300 soccer fields of rain forests are cleared every single hour. This clearing is often done with fire, which can easily spread with little control.
These regions are home to incredible endangered species such as orangutans, Sumatran rhinos, and pygmy elephants — not to mention the rich biodiversity of plant life, insects, birds, and other smaller, less charismatic creatures that find their homes in tropical regions.
As their habitats are destroyed for oil palm plantations, these species struggle to adapt and find new homes. Because…well…they’re rapidly disappearing.
Human Rights Concerns
Wildlife aren’t the only living things displaced from their homes to convert land into oil palm plantations.
For example, according to a 2019 report from Human Rights Watch, in 2017 alone, there were more than 650 documented land-related conflicts in Indonesia surrounding oil palm, which affected more than 650,000 Indigenous households.
That’s just the *documented* conflicts.
These communities have often not been consulted until after the forests were destroyed. According to the report:
“Villagers interviewed by Human Rights Watch said they were surprised by the company’s operations, only realizing their lands and forests were to be razed when bulldozers and other equipment rolled into the area. The companies had not organized systematic and meaningful consultations with Indigenous people at different stages of the project to understand the nature and extent of the human rights risks.”
There have also been documented cases of child labor in oil palm harvesting. One report from 2020 found tens of thousands of children working in palm fields for little or no pay, while also being kept out of school, as well as children smuggled across borders.
➡️ Basically…big corporations win, and everyone else loses.
Can palm oil be sustainable?
Okay so clearly palm oil has its issues. Very real, very serious issues. But I also mentioned above that some of our products at A Drop in the Ocean do contain palm oil. So can palm oil be sustainable, then?
In short, yes.
But only if the market demands it.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is the main certifying body around sustainable palm oil. They’re a global, nonprofit organization focused on strict standards for sustainable palm oil production, with backing from the World Wildlife Fund.
The RSPO currently has over 6,000 members worldwide, and certifies about 19% of the world’s palm oil, with standards around people, planet, and prosperity.
- People. The workers and communities involved in the production have been treated fairly and respectfully. Good working conditions and ethical business practices are fundamental to sustainable palm oil production.
- Planet. Forests are protected from deforestation, and no harm is done to endangered species, ecosystems, and habitats. To protect the climate, new plantations must not be developed on peatlands, and carbon emissions must be reduced.
- Prosperity. Better management and training in good agricultural practices significantly helps increase yields. This gives small-scale farmers and their families sustainable livelihoods, providing them with steady income throughout the year.
(These definitions were pulled directly from the RSPO website.)
These three principles are deepened and expanded through the RSPO’s 162 different environmental, social, and governance requirements for oil palm growers.
For palm oil to be certified sustainable by the RSPO, the growers must undergo an annual audit that’s conducted by a third party, and much of the palm oil that’s considered sustainable is grown on plantations that were established before the palm oil boom, so there’s no new land being razed to establish new oil palm plantations.
However, there’s still quite a lot of criticism of the RSPO — namely that it’s not strict enough, doesn’t enforce strongly enough, and may enable its members to greenwash.
Personally, I think you’ll find those same criticisms with most third-party certifications. (If you follow B-Corporation news, for example, many people are starting to speak out similarly about B-Corp certification.) But does that mean that third-party certifications don’t have value or don’t create an impact?
Absolutely not.
The RSPO may not be perfect, but their efforts have raised considerable awareness and pressure on oil palm growers.
So what can we do about palm oil?
So basically, there are two different ways we can approach palm oil — a total boycott of all palm oil, or choosing to support sustainably-sourced palm oil.
It’s important to understand that there is no right or wrong answer here.
We have to do what feels right for us in our gut.
Option 1: Total palm oil boycott.
On the one hand, we can avoid palm oil completely — and this is something many EcoWarriors do!
Basically, those who choose to boycott palm oil want to avoid any products that contain palm oil, to limit the expansion of oil palm plantations, and use their dollar to vote for companies that are also doing their part to mitigate the negative effects of palm oil.
This is, unfortunately, much more difficult than it sounds.
Because very rarely is palm oil actually listed as “palm oil” on an ingredient list. There are hundreds of things palm oil could be disguised as.
A good starting point when trying to identify palm oil in something is to look for ingredients with Palm, Stear, Laur, or Glyc in their name.
If you want to go deeper, this is the list I reference when I’m cross-referencing an ingredient list.
If you’re in this camp, I applaud you! And I thank you for standing up for your values and taking an active role in the future you want to see!
Option 2: Support sustainably-sourced palm oil.
On the other hand, we can choose to support companies and products using sustainably-sourced palm oil.
I, and A Drop in the Ocean, are in this palm oil camp.
Like I mentioned above, palm oil is wildly efficient, and uses so much less land to produce more oil than other common oils.
If we were to stop using palm oil completely, these lands would be transitioned to another vegetable oil, which would supply lower yields, and potentially lead to greater forest destruction.
Palm oil production also employs millions of people in Indonesia, Malaysia, and more — mostly countries already struggling with poverty. Plus, about 30% of all palm oil produced is grown by about 3 million smallholders, with that number only likely to increase as stricter regulations are implemented on large-scale plantation expansions.
💡 A smallholder is a farmer who cultivates less than 10 hectares of land. These farmers often rely on their farm as their main source of income for their family.
And because oil palms can be harvested year-round, they provide a steady cash flow for farmers, and are often regarded as the one crop that can help a family out of poverty within a generation.
But remember how I said above that palm oil can be sustainable, but only if the market demands it?
Without consistent support and incentives from governments and corporations, these smallholder farms aren’t super likely to be able to meet the demand for sustainable and deforestation-free palm oil production, BUT these same people are the ones who can affect change in their communities, economies, and local governments. These are the people looking to keep profits in their families and communities, and intimately understand the need to protect biodiversity.
Tips and Tools for Sustainable Palm Oil (or Palm Oil Boycotts!)
Now I know that at this point your head is probably swimming and you’re trying to figure out exactly how you’re supposed to know what’s sustainable, what’s not, and what to avoid completely.
You know I’m not just gonna leave you hanging!
So here are a few tips to help you make the best choices around palm oil for you:
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Keep track of sustainable brands with these scorecards and apps:
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Read labels! Read the ingredients list, and know what to look for to avoid palm oil. Look for products that specifically say they use sustainable palm oil.
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Reference this list of all the sneaky names that palm oil could be.
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If you’re looking at a product online that has a sneaky palm oil ingredient listed, don’t hesitate to contact the company! These ingredients aren’t always derived from palm, so it never hurts to shoot a quick email their way to confirm.
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Make your own! Many baked goods, snacks, even cleaning products and more can easily be made at home.
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Eat less packaged foods. The good news here is that a lot of foods that contain palm oil also come in lots of packaging. So by avoiding these items, you’re not only avoiding palm oil but also living your best zero waste life!
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Keep learning and share with your community. Always be curious, keep reading our blog and other newsletters, and share what you learn with your community. The more we talk about environmental issues, the more mainstream they become!
What is A Drop in the Ocean doing to reduce our palm oil impact?
As I’ve already mentioned, here at ADITO we do sell some products that contain palm oil.
But I pinky promise you that you will never find a product in this shop that contains unsustainably-sourced palm oil.
When a product does contain palm oil, or an ingredient derived from palm, we list it explicitly on the product page under “Ethical Guarantees.”
Every single product that we sell that could contain palm oil will either list “Palm Oil Free” or “Sustainably-Sourced Palm Oil” in this section of the product page.
You can also shop exclusively for our palm oil free products here 🥰 (This link is also featured on our home page!)
So in summary…
The palm oil issue is anything but black-and-white.
Globally, we’re losing about 300 soccer fields worth of rain forests every hour to make way for palm oil production, but because it’s such an incredibly efficient crop, replacing palm oil with another oil would likely lead to even greater environmental destruction.
Indigenous communities are often not consulted before their lands and forests are cleared for palm oil production, but when communities invest in smallholder farms, palm oil can bring a family out of poverty within a single generation.
The RSPO isn’t the perfect certifying body for palm oil sustainability, but it’s raised a ton of awareness about palm oil and increased pressure considerably on oil palm growers.
So whether you choose the no palm oil at all path or the support sustainably-sourced palm oil path — there’s no wrong answer here.
We all just have to do what we can, when we can, where we can.
And I’m here to support your journey along the way, in any way I can 💙
So do me a favor and comment below and let me know what you thought of this blog post! Which camp do you fall into? What are your thoughts around palm oil? Lemme know all the things and let’s chat about it!
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