Use of Palm Oil In Products: Consumer Opinion vs Product Cost

In the growing world of social awareness, products which violate anything, which goes against ones ethics, is one which is bound to come under scrutiny. From what seemed a distant memory, which has floated away with the breeze, has risen again with the strength of Social Media and in particular Facebook. Social Media is becoming the hunting ground and the voice to oust these unethical produced or sold products. A page, which caught my attention was one, that was created to make consumers aware of these products and the effects of the use of palm oil in products and its effect on the environment and its habitat.

You would think that every major company in the world would try and avoid any little scandals today with the strength and speed of Social Media word of mouth. But they have become lazy in the effort to reduce or maintain cost by using products such as Palm Oil. The unfortunate truth is that only small percentages of these companies are using palm oil, which is sustainably sourced (another topic all together). The alarming fact is how many companies continue to use Palm Oil in their products. Names Such as Coles, Kellogg’s, and Arnott’s and so much more. Arnott’s even have the audacity to palm it off (pun intended) as if they use Vegetable Oil. Their entire biscuit range contains Palm Oil, except cruskits. The company responded with the Statement: Since August 2010, we have decreased our current palm oil usage by approximately 25 percent by replacing palm oil with alternative oils across a number of products. The Company remains committed to identifying opportunities to further reduce usage of palm oil on an ongoing basis.

The unfortunate thing is, that this is corporate bullshit, wrapped in cellophane paper.

You can see right through it. It should read: We will continue to look like we are doing our part for a sustainable world, by attempting to reduce our palm oil use. Our replacements are a lot more expensive, that’s why we haven’t changed immediately, we will continue to use palm oil until the voice of the minority becomes the majority and begins to effect our sales. Thank you for swallowing our BS!

I can’t wait until they find a company, which tries to position itself as environment friendly and gets caught out. Talk about misleading the consumer. When that bomb hits, they will never be able to speak the terms ‘brand trust’ ever again. The movement against palm oil is also getting some attention from the health and wellbeing community. There is glaring research, which also shows the negative effects palm oil use can have on the body. With Palm Oil containing more than 50% saturated fats, theres a big chance it also contributes to cardiovascular disease.

It seems ridiculous that corporations profits are more important than the life of another living being. For anyone who works for a company like this, you can only hope that they feel some kind of guilt about their contribution to the disappearance of one of the earth’s amazing creatures, the Orangutan. If you disagree with this point, it goes to show how much the human race does really suck. I know in years to come, when everything is gone, because people were too selfish to even care about what was happening to the world, they will look back and say, we could have done something. Why wait I say, it’s never to late. Do your part because until this minority becomes the majority, the scoundrels of the corporate world will continue to kill.