Fact: Independent data from leading international institutions show that palm oil is superior in yields, productivity, land use, health benefits and commitment to the environment and sustainability as compared with rapeseed, sunflower and other vegetable oils.
These facts highlight the falsehoods pushed by ongoing, defamatory NGO campaigns, supported by rapeseed and sunflower interests in Europe.
The Oxford Handbook of Food, Politics, and Society clearly sets out the massive inefficiency and environmental footprint of rapeseed and sunflower.
Additionally, palm oil is far more efficient than rapeseed and sunflower. Oil palms produce 11 times more oil per hectare than soybean plants, and ten times more than sunflower.
These data show that planting rapeseed and sunflower has a real-world negative impact. Forests and other environments (such as grasslands) across Europe have been decimated to grow rapeseed and sunflower. This destruction has happened for many centuries.
Indonesia has significantly higher areas of protected forest compared to European countries that plant rapeseed and sunflower. For example, 49 per cent of Indonesia is forested, covering an area of 91 million ha., which is larger than the area of France and Germany combined. Indonesia’s protected and conservation areas are equal to 27 per cent of the country’s land area.
Growing inefficient rapeseed leaves less land available for conservation. Growing inefficient, monoculture rapeseed leaves less land available for biodiversity. Growing inefficient, pesticide-hungry rapeseed pumps more chemicals into the soil, water and air.
Planting efficient oil palm leaves more land available for conservation, biodiversity and forests – and uses fewer pesticides and less fertilizer.