Written by Monique van Wijnbergen
In a recent article the oil palm was presented as a Shiva of the modern consumer economy, “a great creator and a great destroyer”. The article explains how oil palm created and continues to create wellbeing for millions of people by contributing to developing local economies and eradicating poverty. But, as we know, the fast development of the sector has turned the oil palm into a destroyer as well, encroaching into natural ecosystems.
The article explores one way to reset our relationship with the oil palm, finding an approach to produce more oil on less land. Important, considering the projected growing worldwide demand for vegetable oil. The other side of rebooting our relationship with palm oil is raising the bar on what palm oil production should look like. We must voice what we expect, instead of voice what we reject.
