Table Talk

The destruction of tropical rainforests to make way for palm oil plantations is a growing environmental crisis. It's forecast that by 2050, worldwide production of palm oil will triple, leading to the continued large-scale loss of habitat and rising CO2 emissions. So if it is so damaging to the environment, why is it so widely used and isn't the answer simply to ban it? In this episodes of the Table Talk podcast, we look at the reasons why palm oil has gained such a foothold, not just in the food industry but in other industries too, and investigate why banning its use might not be the panacea it's sometimes put forward as. Palm oil is in a huge number of products, with estimates suggesting it is in around 50% of all processed food. It is used as a primary cooking ingredient, an ingredient to increase viscosity, and it's also used in some biofuels. Part of the reason it is so popular, is because it is a very high-yielding crop - it produces five-times more oil per hectare than rapeseed, and