Palm Oil and the Rainforest

At Mighty-O, we use sustainable organic palm fruit oil. This oil, extracted from the fruit of palm trees, has been used for thousands of years. Palm oil has become very popular in this country over the past few years because of increased concerns about the unhealthy effects of hydrogenated oils and trans fats. Palm fruit oil is naturally trans-fat free, cholesterol free, high in beta-carotene and vitamin E, and has other health benefits.

Naturally, not all palm fruit oil is organic and sustainable. Conventional palm fruit oil has negative environmental impacts. Palm trees grow in tropical climates, and the increasing demand for palm fruit oil has led to extensive deforestation in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea as they clear the forests to make room for palm oil plantations.

In response, some companies are standing up against this deforestation. In October of 2008, thirty food, cosmetic, and consumer good companies and one palm oil supplier signed a pledge to support a moratorium on the expansion of palm oil plantations into rainforests. At Mighty-O, we have always used organic palm oil grown in South America. Last year, we developed a relationship with the one supplier who has signed the moratorium: Ciranda. Ciranda gets their palm oil through AgroPalma, a palm oil cultivating and processing company which is not only organic-certified, but also socially responsible. They sell land to farmers at low rates, teach the farmers to grow and harvest palm trees in environmentally sustainable ways, provide agricultural tools and equipment, provide schools and public transportation, and pay the farmers fair wages.

So next time you take a bite of a Mighty-O donut you'll know that in addition to the desire to make a delicious treat we are equally concerned with conscious buying practices that do not contribute to harming rain forests, exploiting tropical laborers, and create long-term negative consequences for the environment.

If you want more information about Palm Fruit Oil and its environmental consequences, here are some links:

• America Palm Oil Council
• Ciranda
• Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
• AgroPalma
• Rainforest Action Network Press Release
• AgroPalma's Dende Oil Family Agriculture Project (PDF)