Editing Palm oil (section)

===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>