Can palm oil be sustainable?
Borneo's bold plan to clean up a controversial industry
It’s the world’s most consumed vegetable oil, used for everything from frying food to making it last longer – but can palm oil be produced in a way that doesn't wreak enormous environmental and human damage?
In conjunction with another Â鶹Éç World Service programme, Crowd Science, we visit the Sabah region of Malaysian Borneo, where different groups are working together to change the way palm oil is produced.
Presenter Graihagh Jackson hears about a certification system aimed at raising standards on smallholders, reducing the industry’s impact on biodiversity, and boosting incomes. And she speaks to an organisation fighting for the rights of indigenous communities against land-hungry palm oil companies.
Plus, what can consumers do to affect change in the industry? We hear how it's sometimes difficult to know whether products contain sustainable palm oil or not.
For more on the steps being taken to lessen palm oil's environmental impact listen to Crowd Science: Should I stop eating palm oil?
(Picture: A man harvesting palm oil. Credit Getty/Â鶹Éç)
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How do you harvest palm oil?
Duration: 02:42
Broadcasts
- Thu 21 Nov 2019 02:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service West and Central Africa
- Thu 21 Nov 2019 03:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service Europe and the Middle East
- Thu 21 Nov 2019 04:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service UK DAB/Freeview & Online only
- Thu 21 Nov 2019 05:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean, South Asia & East Asia only
- Thu 21 Nov 2019 11:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service except West and Central Africa
- Thu 21 Nov 2019 18:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service Australasia
- Thu 21 Nov 2019 21:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 21 Nov 2019 23:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 24 Nov 2019 08:32GMTÂ鶹Éç World Service
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