The video explores the pervasive influence of palm oil in daily life and its hidden environmental and social costs. While many everyday products contain palm oil, recent controversies have arisen over the environmental damage and labor rights abuses associated with its cultivation, particularly in key producing countries like Indonesia. Despite efforts from different sectors, only a small fraction of palm oil is currently produced sustainably, reflecting the ongoing challenges in addressing this issue.

Palm oil production has led to significant deforestation and ecological damage, with Indonesia as a major contributor due to practices like slash-and-burn. These activities have severe repercussions, including climate change and health hazards from toxic haze. Measures such as moratoriums, campaigns, and stringent laws have been introduced to curb these effects, leading to some progress, but challenges remain due to the gap between sustainable and traditional farming practices.

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. versatile [ˈvɜːrsətl] - (adjective) - Capable of adapting or being used for many different functions or activities. - Synonyms: (adaptable, flexible, multifunctional)

The miraculous, versatile substance is used in thousands of everyday products.

2. controversial [ˌkɒn.trəˈvɜː.ʃəl] - (adjective) - Giving rise or likely to give rise to public disagreement. - Synonyms: (contentious, disputed, debatable)

But palm oil has become very controversial in recent years for its cost on the environment.

3. mitigate [ˈmɪtɪˌɡeɪt] - (verb) - To make less severe, serious, or painful. - Synonyms: (alleviate, reduce, lessen)

Despite public and private sector efforts to mitigate palm oils environmental impact.

4. moratorium [ˌmɒrəˈtɔːriəm] - (noun) - A temporary prohibition of an activity. - Synonyms: (suspension, halt, embargo)

In 2016, Indonesian President Joko Widodo imposed a moratorium on new permits for clearing forest and peatland for oil palm cultivation.

5. deforestation [dɪˌfɔːrɪˈsteɪʃn] - (noun) - The action of clearing a wide area of trees. - Synonyms: (logging, clearance, tree-felling)

Between 2005 and 2013, almost half of the deforestation in Indonesia was linked to oil palm cultivation.

6. certification [ˌsɜːrtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn] - (noun) - The process of providing someone or something with an official document attesting to a status or level of achievement. - Synonyms: (validation, authorization, accreditation)

They've got certification from institutes like the roundtable on sustainable palm oil, or RSPO.

7. slashing and burning [ˈslæʃɪŋ ənd ˈbɜːrnɪŋ] - (phrase) - An agricultural technique that involves cutting and burning of plants in forest or woodland to create fields. - Synonyms: (clear-cutting, burn-off, deforestation)

slashing and burning the forest was common because it was the cheapest and fastest way to make land to grow oil palm trees.

8. ecological [ˌiːkəˈlɒdʒɪkl] - (adjective) - Relating to the relationships between living organisms and their environment. - Synonyms: (environmental, biological, green)

Palm oil production has led to significant deforestation and ecological damage.

9. premature [ˌpriːməˈtʃʊə(r)] - (adjective) - Occurring or done before the usual or proper time; too early. - Synonyms: (early, untimely, before time)

Researchers linked the toxic haze, which lingered for weeks, to more than 100,000 premature deaths in Indonesia.

10. swaths [swɔːðz] - (noun) - A broad strip or area of something. - Synonyms: (area, stretch, tract)

Vast swaths of forests have been burned by farmers to make way for oil palm plantations.

The Everyday Ingredient Destroying the Planet

Palm oil. You've probably heard of it yet, don't know exactly what it is, but unless you're on an exclusive nut and berry diet, you're probably eating some today, or at least rubbed some on your body this morning. The miraculous, versatile substance is used in thousands of everyday products, from chips and ice cream to shampoo and fuel. On average, we consume about 8 kg, or around 18 pounds of palm oil every year. It comes from the red fruits of an oil palm tree. Palm is usually not a whole ingredient in something. With the exception of cooking oil, we're often using a fraction. It's a part of the fruit of part of the oil. So it's really easy for that to be invisible within a product.

Seems like the ultimate natural resource, right? Just pick the fruit off the tree and make stuff with it. But palm oil has become very controversial in recent years for its cost on the environment. Vast swaths of forests have been burned by farmers to make way for oil palm plantations, causing the wholesale destruction of natural habitats and ultimately contributing to climate change. There have also been reports of serious labor rights abuses in the industry.

Despite public and private sector efforts to mitigate palm oils environmental impact, only 20% of the world's palm oil is certified as sustainable today. Like most problems related to the climate crisis, there doesn't seem to be one clear solution. The damage being done by the palm oil industry is significant and not going away anytime soon. But farmers, big companies and scientists are working in their own ways to try to chip away at its negative effects.

The way that we produce food now is a modern miracle, but it's also having an enormous impact on the environment. We have to make changes. We have to work towards creating these novel foodstuffs, which have much lower impact, which are healthy and delicious and different to what we have before.

Alhamdulillah Sakarang Sayama Bonyayi Nam Hetar Eddy is one of 16 million people working in the palm oil industry in Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, churning out about 47 million tons in 2020 alone. Panana Mansawanito paramlai Adia about 40% of the oil palm plantations in Indonesia are owned by small scale farmers like Eddy, who have less than 25 land. But many smallholders didn't have an understanding of sustainable farming.

slashing and burning the forest was common because it was the cheapest and fastest way to make land to grow oil palm trees. Between 2005 and 2013, almost half of the deforestation in Indonesia was linked to oil palm cultivation. 2015 was the worst year. Between June and October, fires burned an area roughly the size of Rwanda or the us state of Maryland. Researchers linked the toxic haze, which lingered for weeks, to more than 100,000 premature deaths in Indonesia and in neighboring countries like Malaysia and Singapore.

Lan Sabat in 2016, Indonesian President Joko Widodo imposed a moratorium on new permits for clearing forest and peatland for oil palm cultivation. deforestation linked to palm oil is still happening, but educational campaigns and stricter law enforcement have reduced it significantly. More farmers like Eddie have joined smallholders associations like this one, with financial support from NGO's and big companies. They've got certification from institutes like the roundtable on sustainable palm oil, or RSPO. Sustainable palm oil has to meet strict standards, such as using best farming practices, conserving the environment, and considering employees benefits and rights. But Eddie's only one of a tiny number of certified smallholders, because many farmers don't have the resources or access to get certified, and challenges still remain.

Environment, Sustainability, Palm Oil, Economics, Global, Innovation, Bloomberg Originals