"Palm oil may be a booming global commodity. But economists and environmentalists remain sharply divided over whether the oil helps slow global warming or is in fact a major climate killer."
"In recent years, palm oil development in Malaysia and Indonesia has devastated tropical forests there. With Brazil on the verge of its own palm oil boom, can sustainable cultivation of the crop actually help save the rainforest, rather than hastening its destruction?"
"Palm oil is tainted by environmental destruction and poor working conditions but global production is soaring. What does the industry look like behind the scenes?"
"When China’s population of over a billion people eats more noodles, Malaysia’s air quality tends to suffer for it. There’s a connection between the two, and it’s Asia’s new liquid gold - palm oil..."
Recently much has been made about the conversion of Asia’s biodiverse rainforests for oil-palm cultivation. Environmental organizations have warned that by eating foods that use palm oil as an ingredient, Western consumers are directly fueling the destruction of orangutan habitat and sensitive ecosystems.
Grown only in the tropics, the oil palm tree produces high-quality oil used primarily for cooking in developing countries. It is also used in food products, detergents, cosmetics and, to a small extent, biofuel.
