Published on Brown Paper for Bessie on Tuesday 26 March 2013
Woolworths has been scrutinised for its hot-cross buns containing palm oil, but they’ve done the right thing according to the activists. JEMIMAH CLEGG explains…
Recent media coverage and social media campaigns have exposed the use of palm oil in some of our favourite Easter products. Woolworths had its hot cross buns scrutinised on Facebook, and then SBS jumped on the bandwagon. In the UK, The Guardian has given the thumbs down to certain Lindt and Guylian chocolates.
But, in the case of Woolworths at least, all is not what it seems.
The Don’t Palm Us Off campaign is an initiative of Zoos Victoria to instigate mandatory labelling of palm oil on all products in Australia and New Zealand. At the moment, palm oil can be named as ‘vegetable oil’ on the ingredients list.
So in fact, Woolworths’ labelling of palm oil on their product is a good thing.
But how can it be good if the product contains palm oil? Well not all palm oil is bad, according to Zoos Victoria; there is a sustainable option.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is committed to certifying palm oil that has been manufactured sustainably, without endangering wildlife.
Woolworths is a member of the RSPO. On their website they claim they have been moving towards certified palm oil since 2010. They aim to be using only RSPO certified palm oil in all their ‘Woolworths Brand’ products by 2015.
Currently the amount of certified sustainable palm oil in their products is only 4%. But at least they’re getting their packaging correct and haven’t copped out like many other companies by just saying ‘vegetable oil’.
Companies like The Body Shop are also members of the RSPO and use RSPO certified sustainable palm oil in all their products. Yes that’s right, it’s not just food – many cosmetic products contain palm oil.
Zoos Victoria states the majority of products in Australia containing palm oil are food, which is why that is their main focus. The reason they want mandatory labelling is to give consumers a choice. They believe this will encourage them to be picky, and cause companies to then act on only using RSPO certified palm oil.
So what is palm oil and why are we so worried about buns, bunnies and eggs containing it?
Palm oil is a vegetable oil which is obtained from the fruit that grows on the African Oil Palm tree. The majority of palm oil harvesting and manufacturing is done in Indonesia and Malaysia.
The problem is that, as it stands, this harvesting and manufacturing is not done in a sustainable manner and the habitats of wildlife are being destroyed. The main victim in all this is the Sumatran Orang-utan.
Zoos Victoria says the biggest threat to the already endangered Sumatran Orang-utan is the production of palm oil. Their numbers have depleted by 95% over the last century, with only an estimated 3500 left surviving in the wild.
Zoos Victoria are not against palm oil all together, as the production supports the livelihood of many people in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. They believe if they create a demand for sustainable palm oil, they can then train people to use sustainable methods of agriculture.
The fact is that companies in Australia and New Zealand do not have to name palm oil in their ingredients lists. The ones who do are probably at least trying to cooperate and work towards using RSPO certified palm oil.
Palm oil is not something people should be eating much of anyway. According to The Heart Foundation palm oil contains over 50% saturated fat.
But if companies don’t put it on the list of ingredients when it is in a product, consumers are left blind and unable to make an informed choice.
So next time you see ‘vegetable oil’ on the list of ingredients, be aware that the product may contain palm oil. And if it’s palm oil you see, all it takes is a quick search on the net to find out if the company is at least trying to do the right thing.
Jemimah Clegg 