Chocolate is the ultimate indulgence. That’s why we give it as gifts on special occasions, add it to every second dessert and treat ourselves to sneaky bars when we need a comforting pick-me-up.
Unfortunately, chocolate production has a dark side. Particularly, the addition of palm oil to chocolate and other products has had devastating effects on the environment and society.
Don’t worry though. You don’t need to give up chocolate to clear your conscience just yet. It can be made ethically and guilt-free. You just need to know the facts so you can invest in sustainable chocolate from companies who want the only dark part of chocolate to be the cocoa powder.
In this blog, you will learn:
- What is palm oil?
- 5 ways palm oil is bad for the environment and society.
- Palm oil in regular chocolate vs. sustainable chocolate.
- How you can avoid palm oil.
- The Davies difference with sustainable chocolate.
What is palm oil?
Palm oil is the oil from the fruit of the African oil palm. These trees look very similar to your regular palm tree on the beach, but instead of coconuts they have clusters of reddish fruit. The flesh of this fruit is used to make palm oil and the seed is used to make palm kernel oil.
Palm oil grows in tropical rainforests and although it is originally from Africa, plantations have been set up in Indonesia and Malaysia with shorter, more easily harvestable trees. Indonesia is now the world’s main producer of palm oil.
Palm oil is the most widely used and consumed vegetable oil in the world. In 2020, we used over 73 million tonnes of it. It is cheap and has properties that make it easy to use. It is not only used in food production for things like biscuits, margarine, and pizza, but is also found in soaps, biofuels, candles and cosmetics like lipstick, and it is also used in chocolate production.
Why is palm oil bad for the environment?
Palm oil itself is not bad for the environment, but the way it is planted and harvested has had devastating effects on ecosystems, local economies, and climate change, not to mention threatening already-endangered species.
Five ways palm oil is hurting the environment
1. Destruction of habitats of endangered species.
You may have heard about the connection between the dwindling number of orangutans and palm oil production.
The destruction of habitats to make way for plantations has affected many other species as well, including tigers, elephants, and rhinos. These animals are being pushed onto smaller and smaller pieces of land.
Endangered Bornean orangutans have lost 90% of their habitat in the past 20 years. This means 25 orangutans a day die to due deforestation. There are less than 3000 Sumatran elephants left, less than 400 Sumatran tigers and 100 Sumatran rhinos left on Earth all through the expansion of palm oil plantations.
2. Air pollution
A cheap and easy method of clearing forests and vegetation to make room for plantations is burning. This, however, is horrendous for the air quality of the local people because of all the smoke in the air.
The Air Quality Index (AQI), which measures the number of harmful particles in the air, rates an AQI of 301-500 to be hazardous to health.
In 2019, the AQI of Kalimantan, one of Indonesia’s largest islands, reached 3000. This, of course, has dire consequences for the health of the local populations and has led to many respiratory illnesses and deaths.
3. Soil and water pollution
The effluent from palm oil mills is hazardous and there is a lot of it.
For every metric ton of palm oil, 2.5 metric tonnes of effluent are produced. Where does this waste go?
Unfortunately, it often lands up contaminating rivers, which flow downstream and affect the surrounding vegetation and people.
4. Climate change
With the mass burning of forests to clear the land comes massive emissions of carbon, which contribute to global warming.
Indonesia is now the third largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world. Tropical peat forests are moist tropical forests that store a lot more carbon than regular forests and this helps climate change. These are being cleared for palm oil plantations and thus, we are losing valuable ‘carbon sinks’.
5. The local people are losing out
There have been many reports of local farmers being pushed off their farms or being undercompensated or promised various forms of compensation that have not materialized.
Indigenous communities, who have been protecting and living off the forests for centuries, have lost their means of livelihood and valuable aspects of their culture and heritage.
Many palm oil companies have also been accused of human rights violations, such as underpaying their workers, practicing violence against indigenous communities, as well as harassment, criminalization and involuntary displacement.
At Davies, we take the impact on the environment and communities very seriously and are Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance Certified. We aim to produce and deliver sustainable chocolate and give back to society as much as possible.
Palm oil in regular chocolate vs. sustainable chocolate
So, what does this have to do with chocolate, though?
Well, palm oil is often added to chocolate as an alternative to the more expensive cocoa butter (the natural fat in cacao nibs). This is commonly referred to as “compound” or “cooking” chocolate.
Palm oil reduces the shelf life of chocolate compared to fine quality or couverture chocolate. However, it does increase the melting point of compound chocolate. Hence, it’s use in baking e.g. choc chip muffins. Because the melting point is higher, it doesn’t so easily melt in your mouth.
You will see compound chocolate referred to as “choc” in food descriptions.
Sustainable chocolate, on the other hand, avoids using palm oil and also makes sure that cocoa harvesting and production is done in the best interests of everyone involved.
At Davies, want every person in the supply chain, from the farmers to the factory to the shop to be supported and treated fairly.
How can you avoid palm oil?
1. Read labels
Palm oil is often included in foods and products under different names. Be sure to look out for these many versions of palm oil, especially when buying chocolate or chocolate products.
Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palmolein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine, Palmitoyl Oxostearamide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Kernelate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Lauryl Lactylate/Sulphate, Hyrated Palm Glycerides, Etyl Palmitate, Octyl Palmitate, Palmityl Alcohol
2. Support companies that are saying no to palm oil use
The more the public pushes back against palm oil use, the more retailers will start favouring companies that are eliminating it from their products. Supporting companies that refuse to use palm oil also means that consumer pressure and preference will encourage other companies to follow suit. Look for messaging to say ‘palm oil free’
3. Do your research
Palm oil is used in biofuel that is supposedly good for the environment, but the environmental consequences of palm oil production far outweigh any benefit from biofuel.
In terms of CO2 emissions, it would take 80 to 150 years for the biofuel produced from palm oil to offset the emissions released from clearing 1 hectare of rainforest. Therefore, it’s so important to stay on top of the facts so that you don’t inadvertently do more harm than good.
4. Spread awareness
If this article is the first you’ve heard of palm oil, be sure to let your friends and family know about what is going on in this industry and help to raise awareness of the damage it is doing.
The Davies difference with sustainable chocolate.
Here at Davies, we want to do our bit to make a difference. We are dedicated to producing palm oil-free chocolate. To completely avoid the use of palm oil, we temper all our chocolate and use technology to produce enough chocolate to keep everyone happy and meeting their chocolate quota.
We are Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance Certified and ensure that our cocoa is grown and produced under responsible, sustainable conditions that support the livelihoods of farming communities.
We are a family-owned business that pride ourselves on making ethical chocolate that is completely palm oil free.
To learn more about our palm oil policy, click here, or to indulge in some guilt-free, ethical chocolate, view our range here.