The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
Chocolate, granola bars, shampoo and detergent are all seemingly harmless products which often contain palm oil, an ingredient that leads to deforestation and destruction of critical wildlife habitat in Asia.
Student diets may be contributing to deforestation, since many packaged foods sold at the convenience dining locations on campus contain palm oil.
Few realize that their food choices fuel the destruction of forests half a world away. A group of concerned students from the Stevens Point 350 chapter, have started a committee called Palm Oil Problem Solvers to spread awareness about palm oil on campus.
The palm oil industry is growing rapidly, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature says it is already the most widely traded oil, and its demand is still rising.
To make way for palm oil plantations, highly bio-diverse forests are cleared. When left intact, these forests draw carbon from the atmosphere through respiration, lessening the effects of climate change.
One type of forest that is often cleared for palm oil is peatland.
This type of ecosystem holds a large amount of carbon in its moist soils. Draining and burning peatlands releases huge quantities of carbon into the atmosphere.
Burning peatlands is not only a source of greenhouse gas adding to climate change but creates a dangerous air pollution. The Union of Concerned Scientists says that 110,000 deaths in South East Asia are related to air pollution from landscape fires each year.
Humans are not the only ones effected by palm oil expansion.
While primary forests support a diverse range of species, few animals can survive on palm plantations. Orangutans, tigers, Sumatran rhinoceroses
and Asian elephants are among the endangered species listed by World Wildlife Fund for Nature as most threatened by palm oil.
Ryan Esch, freshman wildlife ecology and biology major and member of Palm Oil Problem Solvers, cares about the issue because he finds the widespread loss of species saddening.
Esch said, “I don’t want to live in a world where we don’t have this rich biodiversity.”
A list of ingredients in Ramen Noodles. Photo courtesy of Dalen Dahl.
Consumers have the ability to influence the demand for palm oil.
Ian Vierck, freshman forest management major and a member of Palm Oil Problem Solvers, said, “an easy way of making a big difference is choosing what you eat and don’t eat.”
The committee aims to educate the student body on the effects of palm oil in hopes of reducing the amount of oil consumed on campus. The group advocates for sustainable certified palm oil products or palm oil free alternatives.
Since so many products contain palm oil, the committee hopes to work with Dining Services to create a shelf in Lower Debot, with certified palm oil or palm oil free alternatives.
Esch said, “It’s something I strongly believe we can actually change on campus.”
Consumers vote for what is on the market with their dollar. As the Palm Oil Problem Solvers say, “the power is in your palm.”
Naomi Albert
Reporter
nalbe203@uwsp.edu
