Use of Palm Oil in Chocolate

The Palm Oil industry is the biggest oil industry in the world. Palm oil is used worldwide in just about everything we eat.

Palm oil comes from a special type of palm tree. This palmtree only grows in tropical regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The reason why palm oil is so popular is that it has a very high boiling temperature which means it can be used at places like McDonalds. They cook with the same batch of oil for five or six burger runs without changing the oil.

Palm oil is used i n one in ten supermarket products. Nowthat may not seem bad but because it is used in many products the demand for this oil is so high the palm oil industry has to plant more palm trees than ever before, in turn destroying the natural environment. As the palm tree produces the fruit that holds the oil only every seven years, planting more trees attempts to meet the demand. This demand is so high that the industry has to remove the natural habitat at the rate of 300 football fields an hour, seven days a week. There is no regard for the animals or the natural eco system and

now over half of the animals in Borneo are either extinct or critically endangered.

There are so many different products that involve palm oil it is ridiculous. The outrageous thing is palm oil is not necessarily called palm oil - it is often found as

vegetable oil. This means that consumers don't know where the oil has come from

or how it has been produced. They fail to see the destructive element of having

this product.

It is only in the past three years that more and more people are becoming aware of the issues with palm oil. Large companies like KFC have now stopped using palm oil in their products. Ironically the company Cadbury has just discovered the importance of palm oil and they are now using it to make their chocolate.

I am now trying to avoid palm oil but it is very hard. I believe that we don't need palm oil and should use it sparingly. I think food tastes better without having oil added to it. By avoiding great use of palm oil, we can all help to reduce the destruction of our environment and make the world a better place