Published on: November 20, 2019
Palm oil is a unique crop. It’s the world’s most popular edible oil, comprising one third of all vegetable oil consumed across the planet. According to global data, every single person consumes 17 pounds of palm oil per year on average. Roughly half of all packaged goods in our pantries contain palm oil, and it’s found in a multitude of beauty products, though you wouldn’t recognize it without doing some research: decyl glucoside (a cleansing agent), lauryl glucoside (a surfactant), sodium lauryl sulfate (another surfactant, often referred to as SLS), glycerin (an alcohol compound that can act as a sweetener, solvent, or humectant, among other purposes) and cetearyl alcohol (a fatty alcohol blend with stabilizing and emollient properties) are all often derived from palm oil, and these compounds are just the tip of the iceberg. Whether or not you’re aware of it, palm oil is a huge part of your life.
With such far-reaching uses (and high global demand), it’s no wonder that palm oil is such a popular crop with farmers around the world. Grown near the equator, it’s the highest yielding vegetable oil on the planet, producing 5–10 times more oil than soybean, canola, or sunflower oil.
Palm can be grown for good, bringing benefits to:
Together, we can influence change for:
