Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm, a tree that is grown mainly in Southeast Asia.

It is used to make hundreds of foods: chocolate spreads, biscuits, ice cream…

… and also beauty products: lipstick, shower gel…

… and even fuel to make biofuel.

Anyway, it’s the oil that’s used most in the world: it has many advantages. First, the price: it’s the cheapest oil there is!

And it keeps well… which means cakes and creams stay crunchy and soft longer.

And then, it’s never too runny, which means your favorite chocolate spread is always smooth and creamy.

But why is this useful ingredient more and more criticized?

Because it’s in such huge demand that enormous areas of forest are burned to plant oil palm trees in their place.

Consequently, thousands of animals, such as orangutans, have nowhere to live and nothing to eat.

And the smoke from the fires sends up tons of CO2, a gas that causes global warming.

To make matters worse, it turns out that biofuel made from palm oil causes more pollution than any other fuel.

That’s why this oil that is used so much in industry has become the target of associations that defend nature!