Palm oil boycott could actually increase deforestation – sustainable products are the solution

The debate has become especially heated since a Christmas advert by Iceland – which dramatises the link between palm oil, deforestation and the death of orangutans - was banned from being broadcast in the UK.

By Jake Bicknell, Eleanor Slade and Matthew Struebig

Palm oil can be found in food and cosmetics everywhere: in fact, half of the world’s population uses palm oil in food. But public awareness about the loss of wildlife through deforestation caused by palm oil crops is growing, and there’s mounting pressure on retailers to reduce their sales of palm oil products, or boycott them altogether.