Palm oil, produced from the oil palm, is a basic source of income for many farmers in Southeast Asia, Central and West Africa, and Central America. Its cultivation and production (often monoculture on previously carbon-sequestering, biodiverse forest land) often coincides with human rights abuses (including rape, human trafficking, child labor, and slavery), displacement and disruption of human and animal populations, and other harmful environmental effects. These impacts can be significant, as oil palms produce 38% of the world's vegetable-oil output on 6% of the world's vegetable-oil farmland, and products from oil palms are widespread in cosmetics. There has also been considerable greenwashing of deforestation and animal cruelty related to palm oil production, with offenders including palm oil producers that received certifications of sustainability.
Statistics
An estimated 1.5 million small farmers grow the crop in Indonesia, along with about 500,000 people directly employed in the sector in Malaysia, plus those connected with related industries. As of 2006, the cumulative land area of palm oil plantations is approximately 11,000,000 hectares (42,000 sq mi). In 2005 the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, responsible for about half of the world's crop, estimated that they manage about half a billion perennial carbon-sequestering palm trees. Demand for palm oil has been rising and is expected to climb further. Between 1967 and 2000 the area under cultivation in Indonesia expanded from less than 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi) to more than 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi). Deforestation in Indonesia for palm oil (and illegal logging) is so rapid that a 2007 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report said that most of the country's forest might be destroyed by 2022. The rate of forest loss has declined in the past decade. Global production is forecast at a record 46.9m tonnes in 2010, up from 45.3m in 2009, with Indonesia providing most of the increase.
Social issues, human rights abuses, and violence Oil palm is a valuable economic crop and provides a source of employment. It allows small landholders to participate in the cash economy and often results in improvements to local infrastructure and greater access to services such as schools and health facilities. In some areas, the cultivation of oil palm has replaced traditional practices, often due to the higher income potential of palm oil. However, the modernisation of cultivation practices has also led to issues including food insecurity. This issue stems from the intensive use of land which leads to soil degradation. As a result, the ability for locals to produce their own food has dwindled and they are having to look for food in other areas as they can no longer rely exclusively on their land. However, in some cases, land has been developed by oil palm plantations without consultation or compensation of the Indigenous Peoples occupying the land. This has occurred in Papua New Guinea, Colombia, and Indonesia. In the Sarawak state of Malaysian Borneo, there has been debate over whether there was an appropriate level of consultation with the Long Teran Kanan community prior to the development of local land for palm oil plantations. Appropriation of native lands has led to conflict between the plantations and local residents in each of these countries. According to a 2008 report by NGOs including Friends of the Earth, palm oil companies have also reportedly used force to acquire land from Indigenous communities in Indonesia. Additionally, some Indonesian oil palm plantations are dependent on imported labor or undocumented immigrants, which has raised concerns about the working conditions and social impacts of these practices. Issues regarding the exploitation of child labor have also been a major concern. The loss of land to oil palm cultivation is also associated with violence. Frédéric Mousseau, policy director at the Oakland Institute, has noted that "repeatedly, after losing their lands ... local communities in Africa and Asia have been subject to violence, intimidation, and distress as a result." Reporting by The Associated Press on palm-oil related incidents of "sexual abuse, rape, human trafficking, child labor, and slavery," disclosed that "almost every plantation has problems related to labor."
Deforestation
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