I propose a bill that would completely ban the sale of palm oil or any products containing it in the United States. Palm oil production is a major cause of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, causing habitat loss of already endangered species like the orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino. This forest loss, along with conversion of carbon rich peat soils, is throwing out millions of tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Producers of palm oil use a slash-and-burn farming method, which consists of chopping down large areas of forests and burning them to make way for plantations. This not only contributes to deforestation and habitat loss, but also harms animals and humans by polluting the air and releasing dangerous greenhouse gasses. Furthermore, tropical oils such as palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil are all high in saturated fats. Saturated fats can increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol and triglycerides, and have been linked to heart disease. There are a plethora of reasons why palm oil is harmful, and truly none why it is better than any alternative oils. Small cost differences are negligible when the environmental and health impacts of palm oil compared to alternatives are so vast. Many other nations have taken the steps to ban or at the very least reduce the sale of palm oil products, and I believe the United States would be capable of making the necessary changes.