Why Reduce Palm Oil

Industrial palm oil production is a major driver of deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, and the marginalization of communities in the Global South, which is why we advocate reducing unnecessary use (e.g., ultra-processed food, food waste) and overall dependence on palm oil. 

While palm oil is often defended for its land efficiency and claims that there are “no alternatives,” these arguments overlook opportunities for reduced consumption, product reformulation, utilizing excess capacity of local oils in the Global North like corn, emerging alternatives such as algae- and yeast-based oils, as well as economic diversification (e.g., eco-tourism). We advocate for a comprehensive approach that ensures any remaining production is genuinely sustainable through diversified agroforestry systems rather than extractive monocultures, supported by strong, independent third-party verification and accountability mechanisms to ensure sustainability claims are transparent, credible, and measurable. Certification systems such as the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) have helped raise awareness, but ongoing deforestation and enforcement gaps highlight the need for stronger accountability; we also recognize the World Wildlife Fund’s role in shaping these frameworks and the limitations of voluntary certification approaches. 

Our organization’s perspective too is grounded in a broader critique of the global economic structures in which palm oil production is embedded. We recognize neo-colonial narratives can accompany criticisms of palm oil, and we agree that these narratives risk obscuring the historical responsibilities and structural path dependencies imposed by former colonial powers. However, acknowledging these dynamics does not make current forms of exploitation or ecological harm defensible. Present-day governance and power asymmetries across states, corporations, and global markets continue to marginalize workers and local communities.

Central to a post-extractive palm oil future are degrowth-aligned approaches that center and empower local communities when it comes to land use, economic development, and resource management. The Global South could lead this future provided that meaningful resources, investment, and equitable decision-making power are made available. 

Through public education, institutional reform, policy advocacy, and community-centered solutions, we seek to build food and agricultural systems that protect ecosystems, strengthen local economies, uphold land sovereignty, and advance long-term environmental and social well-being.

We are not advocating for a total boycott; rather, we support allowing for local and regional non-exported production that meets community needs while reducing pressure from export-driven expansion. We also acknowledge that the Global South should have the right to sell palm oil locally and benefit from its production. However, as it currently stands, palm oil is globally exported beyond ecological limits under the auspices of profit-driven multinationals and, in some cases, governments employing authoritarian tactics like police brutality and banning conservation scientists from entering their borders. This combination of overexploitation, global market pressures, and concentrated power is deeply problematic for both ecosystems and local communities. 

We also recognize that consumers should not bear sole responsibility for addressing systemic challenges, albeit we do advocate for reducing palm oil procurement in coalition as means of applying pressure on corporate palm oil purveyors.