Palm oil use linked to rainforest destruction, claim environmentalists

One third of all food products on supermarket shelves are directly contributing to the destruction of the world's rainforests, according to a new report by Friends of the Earth.

The research claimed that the booming trade in palm oil, used in everyday products such as chocolate, crisps, margarine, shampoo and detergents has been fuelling the destruction of rainforests in South East Asia, and leading to human rights abuses and devastating pollution.

On the back of the report's findings, the environmental group is calling on the government to force UK companies to address this issue, and introduce legislation to make them accountable for the damage they cause.

Large scale palm oil plantations are replacing the forests in Indonesia and Malaysia at "an alarming rate" – wiping out 80-100% of wildlife in the area, forcing local communities from their land and destroying their livelihoods, the environmentalist group said. In Indonesia, the forests are disappearing at a rate of more than two million hectares a year - an area greater than the size of Wales, it said.

Palm oil is one of the world's most consumed oils, and used in a number of top brand foods, including Walkers' crisps, Kellogg's cereals, Heinz soups and some Cadbury Schweppes' chocolate. UK companies are involved in the trade as investors, retailers and in processing palm oil.

Palm oil accounts for 21% of the global edible oil market and, with soy oil, is the most commonly used edible oil.

Friends of the Earth Director Tony Juniper said: "Consumers will be horrified to know that their weekly shop is destroying the rainforest, but it is all but impossible to avoid buying palm oil. Tigers, orang-utans and countless other species are being driven to extinction while governments stand idly by and allow companies to get away with it. This problem will not be solved until there are clear rules to ensure the products found in our shops are produced in a way that does not harm communities and the environment."

The demand for profit from this rapidly expanding trade is leading to human rights violations against indigenous communities, who are losing their land and being forced to work on the plantations, often for less than the minimum wage.

Friends of the Earth has called on the companies involved in palm oil production to take immediate steps to ensure they only use "sustainably produced" palm oil.

(gmcg)