Palm oil is highly versatile and inexpensive to manufacture (Lim, Biswas, & Samyudia, 2015). It is the world’s highest yielding oilseed, capable of producing more oil in less space than is required for corn, soybean, and rapeseed oils (Chow, 2011). However, when produced unsustainably, palm oil can have negative effects on biodiversity. In many instances, natural areas have been deforested to create palm oil plantations. In a 2016 study, 45% of Southeast Asian palm oil plantations sampled were located where forests had been in 1989 (Vishay, Pimm, Jenkins, & Smith, 2016).
The first negative effect of turning a forest into a palm oil plantation on biodiversity is evident: an array of native plants are removed for this purpose. When the space is filled with oil palm, this effectively creates a monoculture. This change takes away animal habitat and food sources. In the amazon, oil palm monocultures have been found to alter mammalian movements, as the majority of species detected within plantations never ventured further than one and a half kilometers away from the forest edge (Mendes-Oliveira et al., 2017). Streams running through oil palm plantation were found to have decreased species richness of aquatic insects and fishes (Giam et al., 2015; Luiza-Andrade et al., 2017).
Multiple studies have shown that consumers are concerned about the environmental effects of palm oil (Aguiar, Martinez, & Caleman, 2018; Disdier, Marette, & Millet, 2013; Sodano, Riverso, & Scafuto, 2018). However, many people are unaware that they are purchasing products that contain it (Giam, Mani, Koh, & Tan, 2015).
The first negative effect of turning a forest into a palm oil plantation on biodiversity is evident: an array of native plants are removed for this purpose. When the space is filled with oil palm, this effectively creates a monoculture. This change takes away animal habitat and food sources. In the amazon, oil palm monocultures have been found to alter mammalian movements, as the majority of species detected within plantations never ventured further than one and a half kilometers away from the forest edge (Mendes-Oliveira et al., 2017). Streams running through oil palm plantation were found to have decreased species richness of aquatic insects and fishes (Giam et al., 2015; Luiza-Andrade et al., 2017).
Multiple studies have shown that consumers are concerned about the environmental effects of palm oil (Aguiar, Martinez, & Caleman, 2018; Disdier, Marette, & Millet, 2013; Sodano, Riverso, & Scafuto, 2018). However, many people are unaware that they are purchasing products that contain it (Giam, Mani, Koh, & Tan, 2015).
Works Cited
Aguiar, L. K., Martinez, D. C., & Caleman, S. M. Q. (2018). Consumer Awareness of Palm Oil as an Ingredient in Food and Non-Food Products. Journal of Food Products Marketing 24(3), 297-310. doi: 10.1080/10454446.2017.1266559
Chow, B. P. (2011). Palm oil -- boon or bane? TCE: The Chemical Engineer 842, 24-25.
Disdier, A. -C., Marette, S., & Millet, G. (2013). Are consumers concerned about palm oil? Evidence from a lab experiment. Food Policy 43, 180-189. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.09.003
Giam, X., Hadiaty, R. K., Tan, H. H., Parenti, L. R., Wowor, D., Sauri, S., . . . Wilcove, D. S. (2015). Mitigating the impact of oil-palm monoculture on freshwater fishes in Southeast Asia. Conservation Biology 29(5), 1357-1367. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12483
Giam, X., Mani, L., Koh, L. P., & Tan, H. T. W. (2015). Saving Tropical Forests by Knowing What We Consume. Conservation Letters 9(4), 267-274. doi: 10.1111/conl.12209
Lim, C. I., Biswas, W., & Samyudia, Y. (2015). Review of Existing Sustainability Assessment Methods for Malaysian Palm Oil Production. Procedia CIRP 26, 13-18. doi:10.1016/J.PROCIR.2014.08.020
Luiza-Andrade, A., Brasil, L. S., Benone, N. L., Shimano, Y., Farias, A. P. J., Montag, L. F., . . . Juen, L. (2017). Influence of oil palm monoculture on the taxonomic and functional composition of aquatic insect communities in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. Ecological Indicators 82, 478-483. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.07.006
Mendes-Oliveira, A. C., Peres, C. A., Maués, P. C. R. d. A., Oliveira, G. L., Mineiro, I. G. B., de Maria, S. L. S., & Lima, R. C. S. (2017). Oil palm monoculture induces drastic erosionof an Amazonian forest mammal fauna. PLoS ONE 12(11), e0187650. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187650
Sodano, V., Riverso, R., & Scafuto, F. (2018). INVESTIGATING THE INTENTION TO REDUCE PALM OIL CONSUMPTION. Quality - Access to Success 19, 500-505.
Vishay, V., Pimm, S. L., Jenkins, C. N., & Smith, S. J. (2016). The Impacts of Oil Palm on Recent Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss. PLoS ONE 11(7), e0159668. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159668
Aguiar, L. K., Martinez, D. C., & Caleman, S. M. Q. (2018). Consumer Awareness of Palm Oil as an Ingredient in Food and Non-Food Products. Journal of Food Products Marketing 24(3), 297-310. doi: 10.1080/10454446.2017.1266559
Chow, B. P. (2011). Palm oil -- boon or bane? TCE: The Chemical Engineer 842, 24-25.
Disdier, A. -C., Marette, S., & Millet, G. (2013). Are consumers concerned about palm oil? Evidence from a lab experiment. Food Policy 43, 180-189. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.09.003
Giam, X., Hadiaty, R. K., Tan, H. H., Parenti, L. R., Wowor, D., Sauri, S., . . . Wilcove, D. S. (2015). Mitigating the impact of oil-palm monoculture on freshwater fishes in Southeast Asia. Conservation Biology 29(5), 1357-1367. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12483
Giam, X., Mani, L., Koh, L. P., & Tan, H. T. W. (2015). Saving Tropical Forests by Knowing What We Consume. Conservation Letters 9(4), 267-274. doi: 10.1111/conl.12209
Lim, C. I., Biswas, W., & Samyudia, Y. (2015). Review of Existing Sustainability Assessment Methods for Malaysian Palm Oil Production. Procedia CIRP 26, 13-18. doi:10.1016/J.PROCIR.2014.08.020
Luiza-Andrade, A., Brasil, L. S., Benone, N. L., Shimano, Y., Farias, A. P. J., Montag, L. F., . . . Juen, L. (2017). Influence of oil palm monoculture on the taxonomic and functional composition of aquatic insect communities in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. Ecological Indicators 82, 478-483. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.07.006
Mendes-Oliveira, A. C., Peres, C. A., Maués, P. C. R. d. A., Oliveira, G. L., Mineiro, I. G. B., de Maria, S. L. S., & Lima, R. C. S. (2017). Oil palm monoculture induces drastic erosionof an Amazonian forest mammal fauna. PLoS ONE 12(11), e0187650. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0187650
Sodano, V., Riverso, R., & Scafuto, F. (2018). INVESTIGATING THE INTENTION TO REDUCE PALM OIL CONSUMPTION. Quality - Access to Success 19, 500-505.
Vishay, V., Pimm, S. L., Jenkins, C. N., & Smith, S. J. (2016). The Impacts of Oil Palm on Recent Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss. PLoS ONE 11(7), e0159668. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159668