PKO and Palm Oil

[jwahlton]

CSPI Says Orangutans Literally “Dying for Cookies”

Group Calls on Food Industry & Consumers to Avoid Palm Oil from Unsustainable Sources in Malaysia and Indonesia

Increased demand for palm oil is fueling destruction of the rainforest habitats of Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, pushing those and other already endangered species even closer to extinction, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). In a full-page ad in The New York Times, CSPI says orangutans are literally dying for cookies, as food manufacturers are replacing partially hydrogenated oils with palm oil in cookies, crackers, cereals, and microwave popcorn. CSPI, which has led efforts to get trans fats out of foods, is calling on food manufacturers to use as little palm oil as possible and to seek it out from environmentally sustainable sources.

“As it happens, palm oil is almost as conducive to heart disease as the partially hydrogenated oil it is frequently replacing,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “But much of the increased demand for palm oil is being satisfied by growers in Malaysia and Indonesia, whose authoritarian regimes turn a blind eye to the environmental destruction.”

Palm oil is forecast to overtake soybean oil as the world’s most produced and traded edible oil by 2012. Malaysia and Indonesia account for 83 percent of palm oil production, according to Cruel Oil—a 2005 CSPI report on the health and environmental consequences of palm oil. Since the 1970s, the area planted with oil palm in Indonesia has grown more than 30-fold to almost 12,000 square miles. In Malaysia, the area devoted to oil palm has increased 12-fold to 13,500 square miles.

As rainforest is cleared for oil palm plantations, orangutans and other species have less room to roam and reproduce and become easier targets for poachers. Borneo’s orangutan population was reduced by a third in just one year, 1997, when almost 8,000 were either burned to death or massacred as they tried to flee fires set to clear rainforest for new plantations.

CSPI’s ad shows a baby orangutan sitting amidst skulls of adult orangutans with the headline “Dying for a Cookie?” The ad urges consumers to read labels and to select products with non-hydrogenated soybean, corn, canola, or peanut oils, all of which are more environmentally friendly and better for human hearts and arteries than palm oil. “We can find other ways of making cookies,” the ad reads. “We can’t find other ways of making orangutans.”

In an alert posted on its web site CSPI calls on H. Lee Scott, Jr., president and CEO of Wal-Mart, to adopt a corporate policy on sustainable palm oil. CSPI says that as the nation’s biggest grocery retailer, Wal-Mart should reformulate its house brands to use as little of the ingredient as possible, to seek out sustainable sources for the palm oil it does use, and to insist that its suppliers to do the same. Wal-Mart’s British subsidiary, Asda, has already joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a international forum of industry and NGO stakeholders.

“Fortunately, many companies that have reformulated their products to remove partially hydrogenated oils have been able to do so by using healthier oils,” Jacobson said. “Palm oil should be treated as an ingredient of last resort by consumers and corporations alike.”

Many of you know we visited the Center for Great Apes a few weeks ago and are going to partner with them for fundraising. I got a call from the director the other day who was reading the ingredients in my soap. She said she noticed I used Palm Kernel Oil and Palm Oil (M&P for that one I guess) and went on to tell me about what was posted above. I was not aware of this. She said she couldn't condone our company if we used palm or pko. After doing more research since then I have totally reformulated my base CP recipe to exclude PKO.

[Meridith]

So have you replaced it with soy? If not, do you mind me asking you what you replaced it with? This is some very interesting information - thanks for passing it on.

[Scented]

Would be good to know of some alternates to replace the palm and PKO ... coconut and castor come to mind, but what else?

[tootie04]

I use Lard

[Sherie]

Babussa, sodium lactate come to mind too.

[magsglass]

I had noticed that Mountain Rose Herbs stocks palm & PKO only from Brazil. Yes, they're expensive compared to, say, Columbus Foods, but they claim it's certified organic from sustainable resources, and fairly-traded. Might be an option.

[Kaybee23]

When trying to keep your soap vegan, what would you sub. to get the same qualities that you do from the palms. I really want to keep mine vegan.

[Meridith]

Would be good to know of some alternates to replace the palm and PKO ... coconut and castor come to mind, but what else?

I usually use all of those at one time in my soaps. I have soaped with lard too - it makes wonderful soap. I like sodium lactate in my soaps as well but I have never tried Babussa oil. I've beent wanting to try that one. It will be intersesting to hear what Julia subbed out for the PKO and PO.

[Scented]

True, some people may not like the piggy soaps.

[Kaybee23]

Just playing around on the soapcalc, it looks like subbing Crisco in, and upping the Babassu, gets some pretty decent numbers for me. Not to mention, some kick a** conditioning, better than my original recipe. Might have to give this recipe a whirl tomorrow.

[Scented]

Now I've used babbassu and still do, considering Leslie started me on it, I really don't know what life would be like without it lol. I know, make a batch w/o and then you'll know.

[Kaybee23]

I like the Babassu and use it in my recipe right now at 5%. It really ups the cleansing when upped to about 9%, when you take out the palm kernal oil.

[CareBear]

Just playing around on the soapcalc, it looks like subbing Crisco in, and upping the Babassu, gets some pretty decent numbers for me. Not to mention, some kick a** conditioning, better than my original recipe. Might have to give this recipe a whirl tomorrow.

let us know!!! my skin is sooooo dry

[jwahlton]

Sorry, just came back here.

I have taken out PKO in both my lard and veggie recipe. I upped the coconut a bit using the SAP of .135 which is more true than what is on a lot of other calculators and suggested to me by several soapmakers. I've yet to use this recipe, hope to today.

But my base recipe will be lard, coconut, cocoa butter, rbo, and a bit of olive. My veggie will be almost the same using veg shortening (a la crisco). After talking to her I cannot use palm/pko in my products.

[jwahlton]

Just playing around on the soapcalc, it looks like subbing Crisco in, and upping the Babassu, gets some pretty decent numbers for me. Not to mention, some kick a** conditioning, better than my original recipe. Might have to give this recipe a whirl tomorrow.

I've used babassu and love it, but I try to stay away from things I can't get locally. I do order the cocoa butter but I've got tons of it and it's cheap. And you're right, if you play around with the numbers you can get a great bar of soap without PKO and palm

[MichelleOH]

I just recently took PKO out of one of my recipes too.

[Meridith]

You guys definately have me intrigued with the Babussu,. I think I might have some that I will have to play around with. This info that Julia gave us on PO and PKO has me very concerned and really wanting now to also eliminate it from my recipes.

[jwahlton]

This info that Julia gave us on PO and PKO has me very concerned and really wanting now to also eliminate it from my recipes.

Thanks Meredith. I saw the PKO co-op and wanted to post this information. Not dunning anyone for using it, just wanted to give others something to think about!

Do you add sugar to your lye water? That will help with the bubbles. That's why I don't use Babassu anymore.

I know that palm is in the M&P base and I'm not sure how to work around that though.

[heirloomoriginals]

I am glad i read this. I haven't figured out my base recipe yet, but I have been thinking about it. I will try and formulate a recipe that doesn't have these two oils in it.

Thanks,

Steph

[Crimson]

I rarely use PKO and have never bought palm. Not because of the environmental reasons, though. I originally thought they were the same and had read coconut oil was basically the same as PKO (from the fatty acid charts, they basically are, except for PKO being a tad more moisturizing). Coconut was less costly and no shipping!

So, I never bothered with either of the palms. I use many different oils and analyze the fatty acid profiles until I get the combo I am looking for...rich, cleansing, whatever it is.

Safflower, sunflower, soy, canola, even corn. Lard and tallow, in the non-veggie bars.

I guess I am lucky I was confused about the PKO/Palm/Coconut issue. It is sad, who doesn't love orangutans? And to think about them burning...geez.

[Meridith]

Thanks Meredith. I saw the PKO co-op and wanted to post this information. Not dunning anyone for using it, just wanted to give others something to think about!

Do you add sugar to your lye water? That will help with the bubbles. That's why I don't use Babassu anymore.

I know that palm is in the M&P base and I'm not sure how to work around that though.

Sometimes I do put sugar in my lye water - when can remember to since it won't dissolve in the water once the lye is added. I am going to work my PKO and PO out of my recipes that's for sure. I am a huge animal lover so I try to always be consciencous about these types of things. But I am not a vegetarian. While I love the way lard feels in my soap, I do also try to stay away from the use of lard.

[Scented]

I add it and like the boost in the bubbles, but Julia you didn't test one of those soaps of mine that had it.

However, I do use the palm and PKO and coconut and wouldn't mind finding a way to restructure these recipes I have.

[lisajo]

Babassu lathers like a mofo, more than coconut and pko. However, it is costly.

[jwahlton]

Babassu lathers like a mofo, more than coconut and pko. However, it is costly.

Yes it does, and yes it is!

[jwahlton]

For those who want to try Babassu, there's a co-op going on! I ordered 5 pounds. Just using this at 5% makes a great addition to your bubbles!