Editing Palm oil (section)

==Social and environmental impact==
{{Main|Social and environmental impact of palm oil}}
Forests have been cleared in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia to make space for oil-palm [[monoculture]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sustainablepalmoil.org/deforestation|title=Deforestation|website=www.sustainablepalmoil.org|access-date=15 June 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817173748/http://www.sustainablepalmoil.org/deforestation/|archive-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> This has [[Social and environmental impact of palm oil|significant impacts on the local ecosystems]] leading to [[deforestation]] and [[biodiversity loss]]. For example, these processes have resulted in significant acreage losses of the natural habitat of the three surviving species of [[orangutan]]. One species in particular, the [[Sumatran orangutan]], has been listed as [[critically endangered]] because of habitat loss due to palm oil cultivation.<ref>{{cite iucn |url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/121097935/123797627 |title=Pongo abelii |access-date=20 May 2022}}</ref><ref name=Gilbert>{{cite journal |title=Palm-oil boom raises conservation concerns: Industry urged towards sustainable farming practices as rising demand drives deforestation |author=Natasha Gilbert |date=4 July 2012 |journal=Nature |volume=487 |issue=7405 |pages=14–15  |doi=10.1038/487014a |pmid=22763524 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Social===
[[File:Palm forest.jpg|thumb|250px|In [[Borneo]], the forest (F), is being replaced by oil palm plantations (G). These changes are irreversible for all practical purposes (H).]]

In addition to environmental concerns, palm oil development in regions that produce it has also led to significant [[social conflict]]. Regions with fast growing palm oil production have experienced significant violations of Indigenous land rights, influxes of illegal immigrant labor and labor practices, and other alleged related human rights violations.

The palm oil industry has had both positive and negative impacts on workers, [[indigenous peoples]], and residents of palm oil producing communities. Palm oil production provides employment opportunities, and has been shown to improve [[infrastructure]], and social services and reduce poverty.<ref name="Budidarsono">{{cite news|last1=Budidarsono|first1=Suseno|last2=Dewi|first2=Sonya|last3=Sofiyuddin|first3=Muhammad|last4=Rahmanulloh|first4=Arif|title=Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of Palm Oil Production|work=World Agroforestry Centre|url=http://www.worldagroforestry.org/downloads/publications/PDFs/TB12053.PDF|url-status=live|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111075416/http://www.worldagroforestry.org/downloads/publications/PDFs/TB12053.PDF|archive-date=11 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="Norwana">{{cite web|last1=Norwana|first1=Awang Ali Bema Dayang|last2=Kunjappan|first2=Rejani|year=2011|title=The local impacts of oil palm expansion in Malaysia|url=http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/WPapers/WP-78Andriani.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622221930/http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/WPapers/WP-78Andriani.pdf|archive-date=22 June 2013|access-date=30 January 2013|work=cifor.org|publisher=Center for International Forestry Research}}</ref><ref name="Ismail">{{cite news|last1=Ismail|first1=Saidi Isham|date=9 November 2012|title=Palm oil transforms economic landscape|newspaper=Business Times|url=http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/VISPAM/Article/|url-status=dead|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112182523/http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/VISPAM/Article/|archive-date=12 November 2012}}</ref> However, in some cases, oil palm plantations have developed lands without consultation or compensation of the indigenous people inhabiting the land, resulting in social conflict.<ref name="IDMC">{{cite press release|title=Palm oil cultivation for biofuel blocks return of displaced people in Colombia|url=http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/B3EE02C81FE75923C125738A003536C9/$file/Colombia_press_release_nov07.pdf|publisher=Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre|date=5 November 2007|access-date=30 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127055013/http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/B3EE02C81FE75923C125738A003536C9/$file/Colombia_press_release_nov07.pdf|archive-date=27 November 2007}}</ref><ref name="Colchester">{{cite news|last1=Colchester|first1=Marcus|last2=Jalong|first2=Thomas|last3=Meng Chuo|first3=Wong|date=2 October 2012|title=Free, Prior and Informed Consent in the Palm Oil Sector – Sarawak: IOI-Pelita and the community of Long Teran Kanan|newspaper=Forest Peoples Program|url=http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/palm-oil-rspo/publication/2012/free-prior-and-informed-consent-palm-oil-sector-sarawak-ioi-pe|url-status=live|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514104723/http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/palm-oil-rspo/publication/2012/free-prior-and-informed-consent-palm-oil-sector-sarawak-ioi-pe|archive-date=14 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="FPP">{{cite news|date=28 February 2008|title="Losing Ground" – report on indigenous communities and oil palm development from LifeMosaic, Sawit Watch and Friends of the Earth|newspaper=Forest Peoples Programme|url=http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/palm-oil-rspo/publication/2012/losing-ground-report-indigenous-communities-and-oil-palm-devel|url-status=live|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514094449/http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/palm-oil-rspo/publication/2012/losing-ground-report-indigenous-communities-and-oil-palm-devel|archive-date=14 May 2013}}</ref> The use of [[Illegal immigration|illegal immigrants]] in Malaysia has also raised concerns about working conditions within the palm oil industry.<ref name="BMS 2012">{{Cite report|url=http://biomasssociety.org/en/2012/05/indonesian-migrant-workers-with-particular-reference-in-the-oil-palm-plantation-industries-in-sabah-malaysia%E3%80%80dr-riwanto-tirtrosudarmo/|title=Indonesian migrant workers: with particular reference in the oil palm plantation industries in Sabah, Malaysia|date=11 December 2010|publisher=Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111071229/http://biomasssociety.org/en/2012/05/indonesian-migrant-workers-with-particular-reference-in-the-oil-palm-plantation-industries-in-sabah-malaysia%E3%80%80dr-riwanto-tirtrosudarmo/|archive-date=11 January 2014|work=Biomass Society|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ABC 2014">{{Cite news|date=9 January 2014|title=Malaysia Plans High-Tech Card for Foreign Workers|work=ABC News|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/malaysia-plans-high-tech-card-foreign-workers-21471479/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113074248/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/malaysia-plans-high-tech-card-foreign-workers-21471479|archive-date=13 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="BBC 2013">{{Cite news|date=2 September 2013|title=Malaysia rounds up thousands of migrant workers|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23931833|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905100947/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23931833|archive-date=5 September 2013}}</ref>
 
Some social initiatives use palm oil cultivation as part of poverty alleviation strategies. Examples include the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's hybrid oil palm project in Western Kenya, which improves incomes and diets of local populations, and Malaysia's [[Federal Land Development Authority]] and Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority, which both support rural development.<ref name="Ibrahim">{{cite news|last1=Ibrahim|first1=Ahmad|date=31 December 2012|title=Felcra a success story in rural transformation|work=New Straits Times|url=http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/felcra-a-success-story-in-rural-transformation-1.193708|url-status=dead|access-date=7 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413151936/http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/felcra-a-success-story-in-rural-transformation-1.193708|archive-date=13 April 2013}}</ref>

====Food vs. fuel====
{{main|Food vs. fuel}}
The use of palm oil in the production of biodiesel has led to concerns that the need for fuel is being placed ahead of the need for food, leading to [[malnutrition]] in developing nations. This is known as the food versus fuel debate. According to a 2008 report published in the ''[[Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews]]'', palm oil was determined to be a sustainable source of both food and biofuel, and the production of palm oil biodiesel does not pose a threat to edible palm oil supplies.<ref name="Man Kee Lam">{{Cite report|url=https://www.academia.edu/876673|title=Malaysian Palm oil: Surviving the food versus fuel dispute for a sustainable future|author=Man Kee Kam|author2=Kok Tat Tan|date=9 September 2008|author3=Keat Teong Lee|author4=Abdul Rahman Mohamed|access-date=26 February 2013|journal=Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews}}</ref> According to a 2009 study published in the ''Environmental Science and Policy'' journal, palm oil biodiesel might increase the demand for palm oil in the future, resulting in the expansion of palm oil production, and therefore an increased supply of food.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Corley|first1=R. H. V.|year=2009|title=How much palm oil do we need?|journal=Environmental Science & Policy|volume=12|issue=2|pages=134–838|doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2008.10.011|bibcode=2009ESPol..12..134C }}</ref>

==== Human rights ====
[[File:Palm oil manufacture (9) Lac Mukamba, Teretoire de Dimbelenge, Kasai occ. RD Congo.JPG|thumb|The palm oil industry has a history of violating labor-related human rights, indigenous territorial right and environmental rights of communities in the contexts where the industry is prominent. Child labor violations are common in smallholder farming in many of the post-colonial contexts (such [[Child labour in Africa|as Africa]]) in which palm oil is produced. |254x254px]]
One report indicated numerous allegations of [[human rights]] violations in the production of palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia, including exposure to hazardous [[pesticide]]s, [[child labor]], [[rape]] and [[sexual abuse]], and unsafe carrying loads. These incidents may receive no response by the company or police, or are left unreported because victims fear retaliation from their abuser. Pesticides used by palm oil plantations include [[paraquat]], which has been banned in Europe over links to [[Parkinson's disease]], and [[glyphosate]], which has been involved in a US class-action lawsuit regarding cancer<ref name="ap">{{Cite news|author1=Margie Mason |author2=Robin McDowell |date=18 November 2020|title=Rape, abuses in palm oil fields linked to top beauty brands|work=The Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/article/palm-oil-abuse-investigation-cosmetics-2a209d60c42bf0e8fcc6f8ea6daa11c7|access-date=22 November 2020}}</ref> (the [[European Chemicals Agency]] (ECHA) classified glyphosate as causing serious eye damage but did not find evidence implicating it as a carcinogen).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://echa.europa.eu/-/glyphosate-not-classified-as-a-carcinogen-by-echa|title=Glyphosate not classified as a carcinogen by ECHA|date=15 March 2017 |publisher=ECHA}}</ref>

Reports of indigenous peoples and communities in Indonesia, indicate losing farmland and traditionally significant land due to palm oil industry expansion. In 2017, there were over 650 different land disputes between palm oil plantations and indigenous landowners.<ref name="hrw.org">{{Cite web |date=2019-09-22 |title="When We Lost the Forest, We Lost Everything": Oil Palm Plantations and Rights Violations in Indonesia |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/09/23/when-we-lost-forest-we-lost-everything/oil-palm-plantations-and-rights-violations |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |language=en}}</ref> Indigenous communities also expressed concern over the loss of natural resources, such as wild rubber, reed, and ''adat'' forests (communal forests).<ref name="hrw.org"/> Indigenous communities have made some ground when it comes to land disputes, either through protest or legal means.<ref name="hrw.org"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-27 |title=Indigenous Papuans won their forest back from a palm oil firm, but still lack land title |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/indigenous-papuans-won-their-forest-back-from-a-palm-oil-firm-but-still-lack-land-title/ |access-date=2021-12-14 |website=Mongabay Environmental News |language=en-US}}</ref>

Other concerns when it comes to indigenous communities being impacted include lack of government oversight on palm oil plantations, political corruption, or the lack of enforcement of laws meant to protect indigenous lands.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-22 |title=Indonesia: Indigenous Peoples Losing Their Forests |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/22/indonesia-indigenous-peoples-losing-their-forests |access-date=2021-12-14 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref> In countries such as Guatemala, palm oil plantations have significant leverage within the local justice system, leading local police to disregard land claims, going as far as using force to break up protests, and even murdering local leaders.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cuffe |first=Sandra |title=Guatemala's growing palm oil industry fuels Indigenous land fight |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/15/guatemala-growing-palm-oil-industry-fuels-indigenous-land-fight |date=15 Oct 2021 |access-date=2021-12-14 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

===Environmental===
{{See also|2015 Southeast Asian haze}}
While only 5% of the world's vegetable oil farmland is used for palm plantations, palm cultivation produces 38% of the world's total vegetable oil supply.<ref name="spinks">{{cite web|author=Spinks, Rosie J|date=17 December 2014|title=Why does palm oil still dominate the supermarket shelves?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/17/palm-oil-sustainability-developing-countries|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204125318/https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/17/palm-oil-sustainability-developing-countries|archive-date=4 December 2016|access-date=7 December 2016|work=The Guardian}}</ref> In terms of oil yield, a palm plantation is 10 times more productive than [[soybean]], [[sunflower]] or [[rapeseed]] cultivation because the palm fruit and [[seed|kernel]] both provide usable oil.<ref name="spinks" /> Palm oil has garnered criticism from environmentalists due to the environmental importance of where it is grown. However, it is indisputably more efficient in comparison to other oil-producing plants. In 2016, it was found that palm oil farms produce around 4.17 metric tons of oil per hectare. By contrast other oils, such as sunflower, soybean, or peanut only produce 0.56, 0.39, and 0.16 metric tons respectively per hectare.<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 February 2018|title=The Benefits of Palm Oil|url=https://www.asianagri.com/en/media-en/articles/the-benefits-of-palm-oil|website=Asian AGRI}}</ref> Palm oil is the most sustainable vegetable oil in terms of yield, requiring one-ninth of land used by other vegetable oil crops.<ref name="jp">{{cite news|date=6 February 2019|title=Oil palms need one-ninth of land used by other vegetable oil crops|work=Jakarta Post|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/02/06/oil-palms-need-one-ninth-of-land-used-by-other-vegetable-oil-crops.html|access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref> In the future, laboratory-grown microbes might achieve higher yields per unit of land at comparable prices.<ref name="doi10.1016/j.rser.2012.01.003">{{Cite journal|last1=Atabani|first1=A. E.|last2=Silitonga|first2=A. S.|last3=Badruddin|first3=I. A.|last4=Mahlia|first4=T. M. I.|last5=Masjuki|first5=H. H.|last6=Mekhilef|first6=S.|year=2012|title=A comprehensive review on biodiesel as an alternative energy resource and its characteristics|journal=Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews|volume=16|issue=4|pages=2070–2093|doi=10.1016/j.rser.2012.01.003|bibcode=2012RSERv..16.2070A }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Laura Paddison|date=29 September 2017|title=From algae to yeast: the quest to find an alternative to palm oil|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/sep/29/algae-yeast-quest-to-find-alternative-to-palm-oil|access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref>

However, palm oil cultivation has been criticized for its impact on the natural environment,<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Clay|first1=Jason|title=World Agriculture and the Environment.|year=2004|isbn=978-1-55963-370-3|page=219|publisher=Island Press }}</ref><ref name="Greenpeace Cooking">{{cite news|date=8 November 2007|title=Palm oil: Cooking the Climate|newspaper=Greenpeace|url=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/palm-oil_cooking-the-climate|url-status=dead|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410195818/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/palm-oil_cooking-the-climate|archive-date=10 April 2010}}</ref> including [[deforestation]], loss of natural habitats,<ref>{{cite web|title=The bird communities of oil palm and rubber plantations in Thailand|url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/thailand2_tcm9-133164.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006011200/https://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/thailand2_tcm9-133164.pdf|archive-date=6 October 2016|access-date=4 October 2016|website=The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)}}</ref> and [[greenhouse gas emissions]]<ref name="Foster">{{cite news|last1=Foster|first1=Joanna M.|date=1 May 2012|title=A Grim Portrait of Palm Oil Emissions|newspaper=The New York Times|url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/a-grim-portrait-of-palm-oil-emissions/|url-status=live|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116051501/http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/a-grim-portrait-of-palm-oil-emissions/|archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yui|first1=Sahoko|last2=Yeh|first2=Sonia|date=1 December 2013|title=Land use change emissions from oil palm expansion in Pará, Brazil depend on proper policy enforcement on deforested lands|journal=Environmental Research Letters|volume=8|issue=4|pages=044031|bibcode=2013ERL.....8d4031Y|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/044031|issn=1748-9326|doi-access=free}}</ref> which have threatened [[critically endangered species]], such as the [[orangutan]]<ref name="cspi">{{cite web|date=May 2005|title=Palm oil threatening endangered species|url=http://www.cspinet.org/palm/PalmOilReport.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917040459/http://www.cspinet.org/palm/PalmOilReport.pdf|archive-date=17 September 2012|publisher=[[Center for Science in the Public Interest]]}}</ref> and [[Sumatran tiger]].<ref name="WWF 2010">{{cite news|date=12 October 2010|title=Camera catches bulldozer destroying Sumatra tiger forest|newspaper=World Wildlife Fund|url=http://wwf.panda.org/?195632/Camera-catches-bulldozer-destroying-Sumatra-tiger-forest|url-status=live|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234435/http://wwf.panda.org/?195632%2FCamera-catches-bulldozer-destroying-Sumatra-tiger-forest|archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref> [[Slash-and-burn]] techniques are still used to create new plantations across palm oil producing countries. From January to September 2019, 857,000 hectares of land was burned in Indonesia; peatlands accounted for more than a quarter of the burned area.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jope|first=Alan|date=2019|title=Burning down the house: How Unilever and other global brands continue to fuel Indonesia's fires|url=https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-international-stateless/2019/11/5c8a9799-burning-down-the-house-greenpeace-indonesia-fires-briefing.pdf|journal=Greenpeace}}</ref> The widespread deforestation and other environmental destruction in Indonesia, much of which is caused by palm oil production has often been described by academics as an [[ecocide]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Forensic Architecture |url=https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/ecocide-in-indonesia |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=forensic-architecture.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-08-04 |title=Explainer: What is ecocide? |url=https://www.eco-business.com/news/explainer-what-is-ecocide/ |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=Eco-Business |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Aida |first1=Melly |title=Ecocide in the International Law: Integration Between Environmental Rights and International Crime and Its Implementation in Indonesia |date=2023 |work=Proceedings of the 3rd Universitas Lampung International Conference on Social Sciences (ULICoSS 2022) |volume=740 |pages=572–584 |editor-last=Perdana |editor-first=Ryzal |place=Paris |publisher=Atlantis Press SARL |language=en |doi=10.2991/978-2-38476-046-6_57 |isbn=978-2-38476-045-9 |last2=Tahar |first2=Abdul Muthalib |last3=Davey |first3=Orima |series=Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research |editor2-last=Putrawan |editor2-first=Gede Eka |editor3-last=Saputra |editor3-first=Bayu |editor4-last=Septiawan |editor4-first=Trio Yuda|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Alberro |first1=Heather |last2=Daniele |first2=Luigi |date=2021-06-29 |title=Ecocide: why establishing a new international crime would be a step towards interspecies justice |url=http://theconversation.com/ecocide-why-establishing-a-new-international-crime-would-be-a-step-towards-interspecies-justice-162059 |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=The Conversation |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Setiyono |first1=Joko |last2=Natalis |first2=Aga |date=2021-12-30 |title=Ecocides as a Serious Human Rights Violation: A Study on the Case of River Pollution by the Palm Oil Industry in Indonesia |journal=International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning |language=en |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=1465–1471 |doi=10.18280/ijsdp.160807 |issn=1743-7601|doi-access=free }}</ref>
[[File:Riau deforestation 2006.jpg|thumb|[[Deforestation in Indonesia]], to make way for an [[oil palm]] plantation<ref name="deforestation"/>]]
Environmental groups such as [[Greenpeace]] and [[Friends of the Earth]] oppose the use of palm oil biofuels, claiming that the [[deforestation]] caused by oil palm plantations is more damaging for the climate than the benefits gained by switching to biofuel and using the palms as [[carbon sink]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fargione|first1=Joseph|last2=Hill|first2=Jason|last3=Tilman|first3=David|last4=Polasky|first4=Stephen|last5=Hawthorne|first5=Peter|date=7 February 2008|title=Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt|url=https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1152747|url-status=live|journal=Science|volume=319|issue=5867|pages=1235–1238|bibcode=2008Sci...319.1235F|doi=10.1126/science.1152747|pmid=18258862|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528052911/http://www.sciencemag.org/content/319/5867/1235.abstract|archive-date=28 May 2011|s2cid=206510225}}</ref>

A 2018 study by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) concluded that palm oil is "here to stay" due to its higher productivity compared with many other vegetable oils. The IUCN maintains that replacing palm oil with other vegetable oils would necessitate greater amounts of agricultural land, negatively affecting [[biodiversity]].<ref name="jp" /><ref name=":0">{{cite book|last1=Meijaard|first1=E|url=https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2018-027-En.pdf|title=Oil palm and biodiversity. A situation analysis by the IUCN Oil Palm Task Force|date=2018|publisher=IUCN Oil Palm Task Force|isbn=978-2-8317-1910-8|edition=PDF|location=Gland|display-authors=etal|access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref> The IUCN advocates better practices in the palm oil industry, including the prevention of plantations from expanding into forested regions and creating a demand for certified and sustainable palm oil products.<ref name=":0" />

In 2019, the [[Rainforest Action Network]] surveyed eight global brands involved in palm oil extraction in the [[Leuser Ecosystem]], and said that none was performing adequately in avoiding "conflict palm oil".<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 January 2020|title=Snack food giants fall short on palm oil deforestation promises|url=https://www.fdiforum.net/mag/supply-chain/snack-food-giants-fall-short-palm-oil-promises/|access-date=18 January 2020|website=Food and Drink International|archive-date=6 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706144952/https://www.fdiforum.net/mag/supply-chain/snack-food-giants-fall-short-palm-oil-promises/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many of the companies told [[The Guardian]] they were working to improve their performance.<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 January 2020|title=Biggest food brands 'failing goals to banish palm oil deforestation'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/17/biggest-food-brands-failing-goals-to-banish-palm-oil-deforestation|access-date=18 January 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref> A [[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF]] scorecard rated only 15 out of 173 companies as performing well.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Palm Oil Buyers' Scorecard Analysis|url=https://palmoilscorecard.panda.org/analysis|access-date=18 January 2020|website=WWF|archive-date=31 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231172955/http://palmoilscorecard.panda.org/analysis|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2020 a study by [[Chain Reaction Research]] concluded that NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation) policies cover 83% of palm oil refineries. NDPE policies are according to the Chain Reaction Research the most effective private mechanism to cut the direct link with deforestation, due to the economic leverage refineries have over palm oil growers.<ref>{{Cite web|last=The Chain Reaction Research|date=2020|title=NDPE Policies Cover 83% of Palm Oil Refineries; Implementation at 78%|url=https://chainreactionresearch.com/report/ndpe-policies-cover-83-of-palm-oil-refineries-implementation-at-75/|website=The Chain Reaction Research}}</ref>

Palm oil is one of seven commodities included in the 2023 [[EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products]] (EUDR), which aims to guarantee that the products [[European Union]] (EU) citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or [[forest degradation]] worldwide.<ref name="eudef">{{cite web|url=https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/forests/deforestation/regulation-deforestation-free-products_en|work=[[European Union]]|access-date=24 July 2024|title=Regulation on Deforestation-free products}}</ref>