Palm Oil

As a fresh food, Palm Oil can benefit your health like helping reduce blood pressure and lower the risk of arterial thrombosis. Unfortunately, much of the commonly used palm oil is in an oxidized form— that is to say, processed.

Once the oil is oxidized, it poses health dangers such as reproductive toxicity and organ toxicity, impacting organs such as the kidneys and lungs.

One of the tropical oils (along with coconut oil and palm kernel oil), it’s made from the fruit of oil palm trees.

Cheap to produce it produces up to nine times more oil per hectare than its closest counterpart, when it was announced that all trans fats must be declared on food packaging many food manufacturers ditched trans fats and looked to trans fat-free palm oil instead.

At what cost though?… I have read the arguments put forth by none other than the WWF about job losses and how it could affect whole villages however what about the habitat of the wildlife, the rainforests which are razed to the ground and the indigenous tribes who lose their homes. I know they are pressing for sustainable Palm Oil production but is that happening fast enough? In the meantime, many manufacturers and governments are razing the rainforest and the fires are having a negative effect on the environment…

It was only in June this year that fires were reported in Jakarta and although the government has banned this practice it still goes on…A combination of what is believed to be the result of the hot season and widespread open burning for agricultural purposes was the cause…Thousands of hectares of land are being burnt for Palm Oil Plantations Now I don’t know if this is to do with the sustainable palm oil or just Palm Oil BUT killing forests and peat land it is just awful…

How can we avoid products containing Palm Oil ?…

As a label reader, the answer to that is it is quite difficult as Palm Oil is marketed under many different names…

Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hydrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol.

Who is going to remember all of those?

I think the easy way is to look for these two images on a bottle or package…If the bottle or package doesn’t display these symbols put them back…

Even if you don’t cook with palm oil you almost certainly will eat or use it …Palm Oil is in about 50% of all packaged products sold in supermarkets… Such as Pizza, Biscuits, Baby Food, Margarine, lipstick, cleaning products to name a few…

This link will inform you of what everyday products Palm Oil is in and why…

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil

This link has a cruelty Free shopping guide PLUS a pro forma of a letter you could use to contact YOUR local supermarket or store. I do hope that you will contact your local store or their head office if we all did that it would them know we are serious and if that doesn’t elicit a response then don’t buy their products…Hit them where it hurts …In their pockets.

http://www.bunnyarmy.org/articles/list-palm-oil-unsustainable-companies.html

Companies who do comply …are ones which I will do my very best to ensure that I buy their products are in the link below… However many companies still use Palm Oil in certain products so please don’t be fooled make sure you check the labels… I know it is time-consuming particularly if we are busy but I am making my own list slowly and if I am not sure I check it out when I get home and then know for next time…

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/palm-oil-free-list

The top three UK companies are

• Waitrose
• Marks and Spencer
• Sainsbury’s

Iceland has stated, “By the end of 2018, 100% of our own brand food will contain no palm oil. We are the first UK supermarket to commit to removing palm oil from all own brand food.” When the ethical consumer is sure that this commitment has been implemented they will update Iceland’s rating.

Let’s hope that running their ad was not just hype although Richard Walker, Iceland Managing Director said:

“Our stranded, distressed orangutan is a stark and potent symbol of the effects of deforestation for palm oil. We always try to give people a real choice about what they buy and this was a key driver of our decision to allow Iceland customers to join us in an orangutan friendly Christmas. I am immensely proud of the work our food development team has carried out to create this new Christmas range without palm oil – a celebration of our commitment to end its use before the year closes.”

Have you seen Rang- Tan in London?

I hope many of you will now do your best to avoid Palm Oil as it is such a threat to wildlife, indigenous tribes and the environment we must or we will have nothing for the future generations so much will be lost forever…

I applaud those companies who are taking steps and hope we can speak as consumers and parents and ensure we only buy products that we know are made using either an alternative to Palm Oil or using sustainable Palm Oil although I and it seems many have doubts about how sustainable it is…More work needed in that area methinks…

Thank you so much for reading this post …xxx

About Carol Taylor.

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then you will be made welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://blondieaka.wordpress.com/
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Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week xx

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