This week, large ‘blobs’ of palm oil were washed up on our beaches after Storm Angus, so it’s very much on my mind!
This substance is harmful is to animals if eaten, obviously causing a problem to marine life, and apparently a vet in Newquay even had to save the lives of 5 dogs after they ingested some on the beach.
But this isn’t the only issue with palm oil. In case you weren’t aware, palm oil is a type of vegetable oil derived from palm fruit grown on oil palm trees, and it’s one of the most unsustainable industries in the world.
Causing mass deforestation around the world (specifically Africa, Asia, and America, but mostly Indonesia and Malaysia), palm oil growth is destructive to the environment and the habitats of many now-endangered species, as well as the homes of native communities.
Evidently this is because of huge demand; it’s in everything.
In fact, it’s near enough unavoidable. Most of the time, it’s a completely unnecessary ingredient, but it’s so hard to find alternatives to products that don’t contain it. But at least if we’re all made aware, we can try our hardest to avoid it…
Below are 10 things that contain palm oil that most of us probably buy without realising:
1. Bread
Most loaves of bread you buy at the supermarket will contain palm oil (or one of the many other names palm oil is referred to as – see the link at the bottom of this post!). Next time you go for your weekly shop, check the ingredients carefully, or even better – buy bread from the counter or a local baker and check what ingredients they use!
2. Crisps
It makes sense that making crisps requires some kind of oil, but sadly most of them use palm oil. The packet will likely say ‘vegetable oil’ though, so be aware (this is another commonly used name for Palm Oil). The best thing is to look for crisps that expressly use an oil like olive, sunflower or coconut, or find savoury crunchy snacks that don’t contain any oil at all!
3. Margarine
Margarine is a commonly used substitute for butter and dairy spreads, but even though you’re doing a good thing by avoiding the dairy industry, most of these products contain palm/vegetable oil. Try substituting margarine in recipes with coconut oil, olive oil, or even apple sauce for baking. (And if anyone ever finds a margarine that doesn’t contain palm oil, please let me know – because I can’t find one!)
4. Vegan cheese
Same as above, many of the dairy substitutes sadly seem to contain palm oil in some form. Keep an eye out on the ingredients and shop sustainably; many vegan cheeses come in plastic packaging and contain loads of random additives anyway, so maybe try making your own vegan cheese sauces and trying out recipes!
5. Soap & Skincare
Random isn’t it? Many supermarket soaps seem to contain palm oil for some reason, but good to buy from local artisans, or brands that use only natural ingredients who don’t test on animals, anyway.
6. Ice Cream
I have no idea why there needs to be palm oil in ice cream… weird! Not all brands do, so always check the label. I would say try making your own (vegan or not ), and props if you have time for this, but to me it seems like too much effort (but hey, I’m not a huge ice cream fan anyway!).
7. Pizza bases
Many supermarket oven pizzas or readymade pizza bases contain palm/vegetable oil in the base. I know, it made me sad too. But again, check the label because not all will – just something to be aware of!
8. Instant noodles
Noooo! A staple for all budgeters and quick-lunch-addicts alike, vegan or otherwise :( We all know they’re probably not great for our health anyway, but it is disappointing. And yes, this includes Supernoodles, Pot Noodles and Tesco Instant.
9. Shampoo
As with the soap mentioned above, it’s a great idea to try and support ethical/environmental brands when buying personal care/beauty products anyway. Places like Lush and the Body Shop are good places to start.
10. Chocolate
Palm oil in chocolate is a more rare occurrence, but still something to check on the ingredients labels. It can be easy to avoid, so why buy it by accident right?
I’m not writing this trying to make you feel bad or expecting you to never buy anything with palm oil in it. As I said, it’s near impossible, but if we all are made aware of this issue and try our best to cut down on our palm oil purchases and avoid it where we can, then maybe we can make a small difference.
Further reading:
Say No to Palm Oil: What’s The Issue?
25 Sneaky Names for Palm Oil
Palm Oil is Everywhere: Here’s What to Do About It
Know of any great palm oil free alternatives for the above items? Comment below!
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More posts on sustainable living:
– 4 Products That Are Helping Me Reduce My Plastic Waste
– Plastic and Our Ocean (Small Things That Help)
– 16 Small Things We Can Do to Become More Ethical Consumers
Actually, NGOs engaged in this issue do not call for a blanket boycott of palm oil. Instead they support demanding deforestation-free, conflict-free Certified Sustainable Palm Oil. Here’s why: http://www.theswitchreport.com.au/top-stories/boycotting-palm-oil-not-way-save-orangutans/
Interesting read! Whilst I mainly wrote this article to raise awareness on a very basic level, it would be great to know what action people can take other than simply avoiding these products, which I suppose is the easiest thing for people to do. How does one actively support the demand for sustainable palm oil in terms of things the average individual can do to help on a practical level? Would love to know!
It is very hard for the consumer to be sure, as even those products using sustainable palm oil are labelled as such. There are scorecards produced by groups such as Union of Concerned Scientists, Greenpeace and WWF. Rainforest Action Network rank snack food companies. An app like PalmSmart can tell you which products in America are sustainable as well.
IM AGAINST PALM OIL FARMING BECAUSE HUMANS ARE KILLING RANG-TANS THIS IS MEAN CAUSE THEY ARE DOING THAT TO OUR PLANET EARTH
I’m bit surprise to know that ice cream and chocolate was included in the lists. I’ll be more careful now when buying those items.
Thanks!
I know it sucks! :( They are the less common ones but something to be aware of! x
Unfortunately most of Lush’s products that bubble up contain sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) which is made from palm oil! It’s in a lot of their shampoos, soaps and bubble products. Even the Body Shop products often contain it too, though I believe their rain forest range doesn’t. Alice xx
http://www.woodenwindowsills.co.uk
Noooo – it’s literally unescapable :( I had read about how ‘frothing agents’ were usually palm oil based but never even considered that Lush might use them. That sucks! x
Following this Blog since it addresses how to use less plastic and tells you what products have palm oil in them.
Most of these products are produced for the convenience of consumers. We can all do our part by planting our own garden patches, making whatever we can and supporting cottage industry for the things we can’t to take the load off the planet. It isn’t easy but neither is surviving an apocalypse.
Unfortunately, we cannot all plant gardens, but I understand your point.
I came here to get an idea of what I can remove from my shopping list. Simple changes like dropping margarine and crisps (chips elsewhere in the world) are really simple lifestyle changes that, frankly, most of us would not even notice.
My weekend shop will certainly reflect this list on at least those two.
On a wider tack, it is less about palm oil per se, but more about the VOLUME at which we are consuming.
As a kid, we got fizzy pop (soda) once a week, ice cream on a Sunday (if we were good) and ate meat twice a week maybe. Cauliflower cheese was its own meal – not an accompaniment. Nowadays, this would seem like deprivation to many, but at some point, these ‘luxuries’ have become staples and are no longer considered a treat, but a right.
I believe Vitalite is made with sunflower oil, dairy free & good for all recipes requiring butter or
margarine ….. shop around to buy as it’s often on special offer in the big supermarkets, including Lidl & Aldi.
So… Body Shop tests on animals. I wouldn’t recommend them. They are owned by L’Oréal and they outsource their animal testing so that they can confuse consumers by claiming that they don’t test on animals.
As Wikipedia says – ‘citation needed’.
Iceland is the only place I shop now as they don’t sell products that contain palm oil
10 surprising products that contain palm oil . By now, we’re all well aware that palm oil is bad news. Not only does is it incredibly unsustainable for the future …
This topic was up for discussion last night at a meeting I was at when we had a guest speaker from West Papua. The use of Palm Oil is a major problem for the people of this area. I live in the land of milk and honey Aotearoa / New Zealand and have been trying to put together a list of products that are generally on sale here that have palm oil in them. Finding alternatives is very tricky. All of our margarines (I eat real butter) are made by one congromelate and many other products.
Our biggest issue is its importation for cattle feed, we are over run with dairy cows in this part of the world now. Flogging off milk powder to the Chinese, much of it in cans as baby food.
Cornwall is divine, I went there 2 years ago and loved it.
nga mihi (best wishes)
Bronwen