Oils ain't Oils ...
Consumers are not being told the truth when it comes to the use of particular ingredients in products, such as Palm Oil, which many Australians are ethically opposed to.
Around 50 percent of products in Australian supermarkets contain Palm Oil, but under current food labelling laws, Palm Oil can be described as 'Vegetable Oil'.
However, Palm Oil is one of the leading causes of deforestation in South East Asia and results in the loss of Orang-utan habitat. At the current rate, experts believe Orang-utans will be extinct by 2013.
Put simply, consumers have a right to know what they are consuming and where and when it has been made.
Let's call it what it is ...
Palm Oil is found in a wide range of products, from food products to cosmetics to other household items.
Rather, manufacturers are able to list Palm Oil as "vegetable oil" among in its ingredients, which means that consumers can't make an informed choice of whether or not they want to buy that product – whether for health or conservation reasons.
But consumers can't make an informed choice of whether or not they want to buy that product – whether for health or conservation reasons – because manufacturers list Palm Oil as "vegetable oil" among in its ingredients.
In fact, biomedical research indicates that the consumption of Palm Oil increases the risk of heart disease.
Also, Palm Oil is the leading cause of deforestation in south-east Asia, and each year, more than 1,000 Orang-utans die because of land clearing from unsustainably managed oil palm plantations.
Ninety percent of Orang-utan habitat has been lost already.
The loss of habitat is also affecting other wildlife such as elephants and tigers.
In the USA, manufacturers are required to label Palm Oil on their products.
Here in Australia, however, current labelling laws allow manufacturers to disguise Palm Oil as vegetable oil.
Palm Oil can be produced sustainably which doesn't impact on rainforest or wildlife habitat.
Some manufacturers have elected to only use sustainably produced Palm Oil in their products in response to consumer demand and they should be congratulated, but our labelling laws need to require manufacturers to tell the truth, so that consumers can make an informed choice about the products they're buying.
Palm Oil should be labelled as "Palm Oil" It's as simple as that.