In doing research on ingredients for soap making, I discovered that Palm Oil, a commonly used vegetable oil, has quite a bit of controversy surrounding it. Palm Oil is extraced from the fruit of the Oil Palm which is grown primarily in southeast Asia. The problem is that when a new Oil Palm plantation is needed in countries like Indonesia and Borneo that natural forests are cut down and the peat bogs underneath are drained releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These rainforests are also home to many endangered species like the urangutan.
On the other hand in Malaysia, 50% of the land is already protected rainforests. Instead of deforestation of the rainforest, new and expanding Palm Oil plantations are converting existing plantations from their previous crops to Oil Palms.
The easy way out is to stay away from Palm Oil altogether. But I also would like to support the Malaysian farmers efforts in their use of sustainable farming techniques. I believe that punishing them by a complete boycott of all Palm Oil is unfair.
What are your thoughts on the Palm Oil controversy?
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