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Palm Oil

Palm Oil and its effect on wildlife and wildlife habitat. Your choices matter every day.

Palm oil is a edible vegetable oil derived from the Oil Palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) that originates in the tropics of western Africa. The oil is extracted from the fruit and kernel, and has been used for medicine and as a source of food for thousands of years.

Zoos and conservation organizations are becoming involved in the palm oil issue due to both the loss and fragmentation of habitat across Malaysia and Indonesia, home to tigers, elephants, orangutans, rhinos and hundreds of other species, from the growth and development of palm oil plantations and the palm oil industry.

The majority of palm oil is grown and produced on Borneo and Sumatra although the crop is also grown in Africa and South America. You probably eat and use palm oil every day. It is found in many foods, cosmetics and bath products. When you look for it on product labels it is also called palm kernel oil, palmitate and palmitic acid.

Valuable tracts of rainforest are continuing to be cut down to make room for expanding palm oil plantations. Palm oil plantations are not part of the rainforest., it is an introduced agricultural crop. With the limited exception of a few species of rodents and civets, palm oil plantations cannot sustain native wildlife. With continued loss of habitat and decline in wildlife populations, a controversy has arisen between what is being called "sustainable" and "non-sustainable" palm oil.

Palm oil plantations and mills that are certified as sustainable by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) have met many criteria to achieve certification which include providing for an conserving natural resources, managing pesticide use, treating workers fairly and using existing cleared land and not new land for tree growth.

Palm oil plantations and mills that are NOT certified as sustainable ("non-sustainable) by the RSPO do not have to adhere to RSPO regulations. Therefore, consumers can’t be sure whether or not the palm oil coming from non-RSPO producers has harmed native wildlife, violated the rights of indigenous people, or had other negative environmental impacts.

Your Decisions Can Make a Difference and help protect Orangutans, Elephants, Rhinos, Tigers and the wildlife of Malaysia and Indonesia from right here at home:

Be a Responsible Consumer: Use products from companies who are part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Click here for an updated list of products and companies.
Write to your favorite companies and restaraunts and ask them to make the switch to sustainalbe palm oil or a suitable replacement. Companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Unilever, Colgate, Nestle's and even McDonalds have all joined the RSPO due to consumer concerns.
Support the Houston Zoo's Wildlife Conservation Programs in Borneo where we work with partners to protect the habitat of orangutans, elephants, and many other species.
Learn more about our Pongos Helping Pongos events at the Houston Zoo
Read the Palm Oil Buyer's Scorecard report published by WWF

We do not support the boycotting of the palm oil industry as this is not an effective or responsible action. Millions of people are employed within the industry and large economies are based on the product. With demand for the product growing due to its low cost, we need to work with companies to find a solution to a sustainable product which minimizes it's impact on wildlife, indigenous people and remaining habitat in critical areas.

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Palm Oil

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