Grown only in the tropics, the oil palm tree produces high-quality oil used primarily for cooking in developing countries. It is also used in food products, detergents, cosmetics and, to a small extent, biofuel. Palm oil is a small ingredient in the U.S. diet, but more than half of all packaged products Americans consume contain palm oil—it’s found in lipstick, soaps, detergents and even ice cream.

Palm oil is a very productive crop. It offers a far greater yield at a lower cost of production than other vegetable oils. Global production of and demand for palm oil is increasing rapidly. Plantations are spreading across Asia, Africa and Latin America. But such expansion comes at the expense of tropical forests—which form critical habitats for many endangered species and a lifeline for some human communities.

Over 50,000 orangutans on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra have died because of palm oil deforestation. Orangutans whose habitats have often been destroyed enter villages and oil plantations in search of food where they are captured or killed by farmers who treat them as pests.  In 2016, it was reported that just 45,000 orangutans remained in Borneo and at this rate, they will be extinct in the wild in just 25 years.

“Establishing policies and best practices that avoid conversion of forests is something that companies can get behind,” he says. “There has been a groundswell of zero-deforestation commitments from buyers and producers in recent months.”(Michael Koda)

The issue is these promises were made and there were plans to have these companies at zero forestation by 2020..... Well it is 2020 and not much has changed. 

You may ask, "Why not sustainable palm oil?" Well it is a good idea however corporate greed and the lack of regulation has made it nearly impossible. Many companies don't actively follow the regulations and often mix non-sustainable palm oil with the sustainable products. There is no way to prove this and the prices can stay as low as before. 

We ask Frito-Lay to consider making changes in how they use palm oil so that we can have a promising future.