Is there more to palm oil than deforestation?

Palm oil fresh fruit bunches Photo: Sophie-Dorothe Lieke Research team led by Göttingen University investigates consumer understanding of sustainable palm oil in Germany Palm oil is the world's most produced and consumed vegetable oil and everyone knows that its production can damage the environment. But do consumers have the full picture? In fact, replacing palm oil with rapeseed oil would require a four to five-fold increase in the amount of land needed. Research led by the University of Göttingen investigated the attitudes, beliefs and understanding about palm oil of the general public in Germany, and how this links to land use. The researchers show that people find it hard to know the consequences of their buying choices, even when extra information is supplied. The results were published in Sustainable Production and Consumption. For this study, researchers first conducted an in-depth literature review on the effects of -indirect land use change- to assess the effects of switching from palm oil production. -Indirect land use change- refers to the effects on the environment due to land use change resulting from the increased demand for certain agricultural crops or biofuels.