A variety of different foods is readily available in most supermarkets in countries across the world to eat.
Different Types of Cooking Oil People Eat
When one walks into a supermarket today, a wide range of cooking oils will be available to choose from.
Some of these oils may include coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, hemp seed oil, flaxseed oil, sunflower seed oil, canola oil, and vegetable oil. The oils are in different temperatures, have different shelf life’s and have different nutritional values. It’s always up to the customer to figure out which type of fat they want to used to make their meals.
The Oil Most people Eat
There is one oil, however, that many individuals don’t buy to cook with. Despite this, many individuals end up eating it, anyway. The oil is in a wide range of foods, including bread, chocolate, margarine, soup, and pizza. However, the way this oil is produced affects people and the air we breathe, and wildlife.
This type of oil is commonly known as palm oil. Palm oil is the most popular type of vegetable oil in the world. The oil is used in many kinds of food and sometimes in huge quantities. A common product many people use called Nutella, for instance, has a 22% concentration of palm oil. Research reveals that palm oil can be found in almost half of the products in a supermarket.
Why many People have Never heard of Palm oil
Many people, however, have never even heard of palm oil. The reason behind this is because, for many years, palm oil was disguised under many names. Some of these names included glyceryl, palmate palmitate, palm stearine, hydrated palm glycerides, and sodium palm kernelate.
In the year 2014, however, an AU directive forced manufacturers to reveal it was being used in foods. The order, however, did not affect the cosmetics industry. Many individuals might never realize that palm oil is in their toothpaste, shampoo, soap, and even lipstick.
The reason palm oil is so common with manufacturers is that its qualities make it a beneficial raw ingredient. Palm oil has no trans fats; it is cheap to produce and has a very high melting point.
Problems with using Palm Oil
The problem with using palm oil, however, is that oil palms can only be grown in low-lying wet tropical climates. Due to this, oil palms are mostly grown in rainforests, which are homes to animals like the orangutan.
To grow oil palms, rainforest trees are cut down, causing deforestation and helping hunters get easy hold of animals such as the orangutan. The Bornean orangutan is on the list of critically endangered species.
However, it’s not just animals that are affected by the large scale growing of oil palms in the rainforest. In 2016, Amnesty International revealed that the palm oil industry was using children as young as eight in palm oil production.
Palm oil production is also a significant factor contributing to forest fires and air pollution, and deforestation, which results in climate change.
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