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Palm Oil – What Are the Benefits?
What are the benefits of palm oil?
The negative impacts of palm oil are becoming increasingly apparent. It’s time for change, but many people are still unsure about the best way to bring about this change. Is palm oil really as bad as people say, and does that mean we should all switch to palm oil-free products? We’ve looked into it for you and explain the benefits of palm oil below.
Is palm oil sustainable?
Palm oil itself is relatively sustainable. An oil palm has a lifespan of 25 to 30 years and begins bearing fruit as early as its third year. The oil palm produces fruit year-round. On average, a single oil palm yields as much as 4,000 liters of oil over its lifetime! Palm oil is inexpensive and convenient. The yield per hectare for palm oil is six to ten times higher than for other oils, such as sunflower oil and coconut oil. If we were to convert the amount of palm oil we use into other oils, we would need much more land. In addition, the production costs for other oil crops are many times higher, meaning local farmers earn less from them. At first glance, the oil palm therefore seems like a very effective food source.
The problem lies in the production methods. To meet the huge global demand, a vast area of land is needed for plantations. These palm oil plantations come at the expense of the rainforest. Are you curious about the other harmful effects of palm oil production? Read more here in our other blog post about palm oil.
Should we stop using palm oil?
Does this mean we need to switch en masse to a different type of oil? That’s what we’re wondering. Growing other types of oil also requires a lot of land. In most cases, it actually requires even more land than palm oil, because palm oil typically has a higher yield per hectare. In addition, millions of people are employed in the palm oil industry. In Indonesia and Malaysia alone, approximately 4.5 million people in this sector. A mass switch to something else would put millions of families at financial risk. That is why we believe it is especially important that we ensure palm oil is cultivated in a sustainable manner.
Palm oil-free products
It’s not realistic to stop using palm oil, and switching to another type of oil won’t bring about the desired improvement either. Still, it’s time for a change, because as you’ll see in this blog , the ever-increasing demand for palm oil has harmful consequences. Many (too many) products contain palm oil, even though in most cases it is not necessary.
At Blokzeep , we Blokzeep that things can and must be done differently. That’s why all our shampoo bars and body bars are palm oil-free. Our shaving soaps contain only sustainably grown (certified) palm oil.
