Banning palm oil ‘not the solution’

Banning or boycotting palm oil due to its impact on nature could result in a switch to other “land-hungry” and damaging oil crops, a report warns.

Palm oil is found in everything from ready meals to cosmetics, with around 25million hectares (60million acres) used to produce it worldwide. Large areas of rainforest have been cleared for plantations, affecting wildlife.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report said a ban or boycott of the oil could see other crops, requiring up to nine times more land to produce the same amount of oil, take its place.

Erik Meijaard, the IUCN’S oil palm task force chairman, said: “If [palm oil] is replaced by much larger areas of rapeseed, soy or sunflower fields, different ecosystems ... may suffer. We must work towards deforestation-free palm oil, and make sure attempts to limit palm oil use are informed by solid scientific understanding.”