Palm oil, my new interest. It had never even crossed my mind until my brother told us about it.
Rain Forests are being destroyed and being replaced with palm-oil plantations. From the replacement of rainforests with palm-oil plantations these things are happening,
- 90 per cent of Sumatra’s orangutan population has disappeared since 1900. They now face extinction
- 90 per cent of wildlife disappears when the forest is replaced by palm, creating a biological desert
- 98 per cent of Indonesia’s forests may be destroyed by 2022 according to the United Nations (The Independent)
It is also said that ‘palm oil is in roughly 50% of all packaged goods’ (Rainforest Action Network). If that many products contain palm oil, you probably have some products right in your own home that are aiding in the depletion of rainforest habitats. I already know I do.
Don’t be fooled though, just because it doesn’t say ‘palm-oil’ doesn’t mean it isn’t in it. I’ve provided a link below from the Rainforest Action Network to provide you with names for palm-oil derived products. The one I thought was the most interesting was sodium lauryl sulphates. This is the same stuff that I had written about in toothpaste (Burts Bees review). That after trying everything to help, it had been what was causing my canker sores. One more reason for me to not use the stuff.
Peanut butter can be one of these palm-oil products. Though it clearly says ‘palm-oil’ on it, nothing hidden there. Adam’s 100% natural peanut butter is one of those that does not contain palm-oil. The ingredients is nothing else but peanut butter.
As we all know, things that are good for us and the planet are not always the greatest. It does not compare to your typical commercial brands, but, it is certainly better than some of the other commercial brands I’ve had. The curious thing, it doesn’t taste at ‘peanuty’ as other peanut butters. Even though it’s all peanuts and nothing else….? The cool thing, a lot of natural peanut butters you have to stir every single time you use it. This one you stir it once upon first opening it, refrigerate it, and viola! Never have to stir it again.
Sites & Sources Worth Checking Out
Rainforest Action Network – http://understory.ran.org/2011/09/22/palm-oils-dirty-secret-the-many-ingredient-names-for-palm-oil-or-what-ingredients-contain-palm-oil/#
The Independent – http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-guilty-secrets-of-palm-oil-are-you-unwittingly-contributing-to-the-devastation-of-the-rain-forests-1676218.html
