From the original question Palm Oil and all mass produced products that cause harm to the environment should be banned but that would be impossible if we keep demanding such products.
Use the greatest power you have and vote with your pocket - if people don’t buy it then they will not sell it.
If you can, grow as much as you can yourself (Even if you have just a windowsill it’s all good)
Buy Bio/Organic and buy local if possible. Fair Trade and ethically sourced/produced.
It may in some cases cost a little more but all the cheap mass produced products have a greater cost to us all.
Great to see others not using palm oil also, not always easy to spot in products. After visiting Borneo i would always try to avoid such things.
Its a shame the EU doesnt do more to ban this or do more about chemicals on crops, plastic,pesticides but they are like the rest and everything is about money and power.
There are huge jars of Nutella chocolate spread in all supermarkets, both here and in UK. Imagine my surprise when looking at contents to find palm oil included. Immediately I checked contents of Super U’s own Pate a Tartiner, and label says no palm oil. My point is that if Super U can produce the same taste spread, why on earth cannot Nutella, which is actually made in Italy ?
In France about 295,000 tons of palm oil is consumed per year. Of this about 16,000 tons is in Nutella and 110,000 tons in biodiesel. So it’s not only in food and cosmetics.
Found it online - while it looks to be a “superior” product to nutella (40% hazlenut paste) it contains “huile de colza” - or rapeseed oil.
Rapeseed is intensively cultivated and use of agrichemicals in its production has been controversial so I’m not sure that the Super U product is unambiguously “better” (if anyone knows if Super U has any policies regarding its sourcing of rapeseed oil let us know).
I take your point but so is Sunflower, Potato crops, in fact as you point out all industrial crops in France and Europe.
However, as far as I know, we are not murdering an endangered species and wiping out their habitat.
Not sure that Orang-Outans are cuddly, never had the chance to find out !
Errmm…not sure I entirely agree. Insects and bird s and small mammals in Europe have been decimated by industrial agriculture. And if things carry on same trajectory they too will be wiped out. So may not be a high up the food chain as an orangutan, or as photogenic, but equally valuable.
Personally I feel that there are lots of small steps we can take, not just palm oil. Have a look at this report
I live in a very rural part of central France.
Here in our Commune de communes, and I suppose, in other parts of France and Europe, we are reacting positively.
The use of pesticides has been significtantly reduced. Fauchage tardive is now common, enabling wildflowers to proliferate.
There are more and more meetings with information on how we can all play our part to live in harmony with nature.
Little by little we are fighting back. I don’t use weedkillers, the commune doesn’t use weedkillers, nor do my friends.
We can all play our part, if we don’t buy products that we feel harm wildlife, the habitats of animals and insects, here and elsewhere we are making a step in the right direction.
Nothing to do with how cute or photogenic a particular species is !
Another really good step forward and play our part is to buy local (if possible) and by Bio/Organic. That way whatever you are buying, eating or using on your skin is free from pesticides etc and is respectful in the way it is produced - ethically and sustainable.
It may cost a little more but the only way to change the farmers minds on pesticide or deforestation etc is to reduce the demand for such products.
If there are no profits then they will not produce it.
They certainly do Vero. I can’t remember when the delivery day is for Eymet but people scurry along to pick up their supplies. If, God forbid, Brexit happens I daresay it will put the kibosh on the practice. No more English sliced loaves boo hoo.