Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Palm Oil?

The ubiquitous ingredient linked to deforestation and the destruction of habitat for orangutans and tigers is used in products all around your home.
Palm oil seeds. (Photo: Yuli Seperi/Getty Images); Products. (Photos: Flickr)
Apr 18, 2016· 0 MIN READ
TakePart editorial fellow Nicole Mormann covers a variety of topics, including social justice, entertainment, and environment.

When shopping at the grocery store, it’s easy to overlook the ingredients label on your favorite products, especially if you have a toddler tugging on your arm to buy those Keebler cookies. Yet you might want to consider taking a closer look: Palm oil is used as an ingredient in half the products found on supermarket shelves, and its production is responsible for large-scale deforestation and loss of habitat for endangered wildlife in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Palm oil is harvested from the fruit of the oil palm tree and is often used as a substitute for animal and vegetable oils in packaged food and cosmetics. As demand for palm oil skyrockets, vast expanses of forest in Indonesia are burned every year, emitting enormous amounts of carbon dioxide that is acclerating climate change and destroying the habitat of highly endangered orangutans, rhinos, and tigers.

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FULL COVERAGE: Fight for the Forests

Environmental advocates say consumers can help stem that destruction by purchasing packaged food and health and beauty products that either do not contain palm oil or contain only palm oil ingredients that are produced sustainably.

Think you’re an informed shopper? Take our quiz to see if you have the knowledge it takes to be a palm oil wiz.


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The Problem With Palm Oil