As a mother of two young children, and a teacher, there are a few topics that I am very passionate about. One of these include healthy eating and nutrition for children and another one is creating a sustainable environment for our children to grow up in. These two issues actually go together, and while one of these things I have a lot of control over, the other requires a global effort.
We are on board with reducing, reusing and recycling (my 4 year old is a very strict enforcer of this one!), but I have to confess that sometimes I forget about where things come from in the first place and how sustainable it is to harvest those products.. One of the big issues we have been made aware of recently is the massive environmental impact of palm oil. I knew that palm oil was bad, and when aware of it, I would actively avoid buying products with it in. What I didn't know is that palm oil is in so many things. Over 50% of the goods you will find in the grocery store contain palm oil. That's more than half of all supermarket goods containing palm oil. This figure really shocked me, especially when I realised how many of these products I was purchasing each week.
With Palm Oil being found in everything from ice cream to lipstick, there's no wonder that globally we are consuming over 74 million tonnes of palm oil a year, with this expected to rise to 128 million tonnes by 2022 (just 8 years away). The destruction to rainforests and ecosystems is almost too big to comprehend with these figures, so it's easy to see why something needs to be done.
While these figures seem quite overwhelming, like every global problem the solution starts with one person, one family, making a difference. The one thing that your family can do to make a difference is to know the difference between GOOD palm oil and BAD palm oil. Most of the palm oil on the market is the bad stuff, but there are companies jumping on board and looking for certified sustainable palm oil. That's the GOOD stuff. You can easily identify the GOOD palm oil by looking for the RSPO certified symbol.
What can I do to help?
We are encouraging everyone to say YES to good palm oil, and to put pressure on the industry to change. By buying certified sustainable palm oil you are making a difference. Want to do more? Visit www.goodpalmoil.org to find out more information and make sure you SHARE their videos to raise awareness.
Veronica
Sunday 2nd of October 2016
A few years ago I watched a tv programme that said that palm oil was actually very bad for our health. So I am really confused about it. In any case I try to cook more at home.
Lucy Valdez
Friday 30th of September 2016
I really need to become more informed about palm oil, right now it is so hard to avoid!
CourtneyLynne
Friday 30th of September 2016
So total blonde moment because up until reading this post I had no idea what palm oil was lol. Glad Im informed now!! Thanks!
jen
Thursday 29th of September 2016
I really haven't given much thought to palm oil, I haven't come across it in my travels. This is really interesting to see that there is a good and bad variety.
Sheri @ A Busy Bees Life
Wednesday 28th of September 2016
I did not know all this, I always thought it was just Palm Oil and that some taste different to others. Great to learn something and thanks for bringing the awareness.