Elaeis
Elaeis (from Greek 'oil') is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm E. guineensis (from Guinea) is the principal source of palm oil. It is native to west and southwest Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia. The American oil palm E. oleifera (from Latin oleifer 'oil-producing')[2] is native to tropical Central and South America,[3] and is used locally for oil production.
"Oil palm" redirects here. For other uses, see List of plants known as oil palm.Controversy[edit]
Palm oil is typically considered the most controversial of the cooking oils – for political, health, and environmental reasons.[8] Palm oil plantations are under increasing scrutiny for social and environmental harm, particularly because rainforests with high biodiversity are destroyed, greenhouse gas output is increased, and because people are displaced by palm-oil enterprises and traditional livelihoods are negatively impacted. Especially in Indonesia, there is also growing pressure for palm oil producers to prove that they are not harming rare animals in the cultivation process.[9]
In 2018 a Christmas TV advertisement by UK supermarket chain Iceland Foods Ltd, produced by Greenpeace, was banned by the UK advertising watchdog Clearcast,[10] as it was deemed too political. This was an animated short, starring a fictional orangutan named Rang-tan produced to raise awareness of the environmental impact of the production of palm oil, and the dangers orangutans face as a result. Iceland Foods had committed to banning palm oil from its own-brand products by the end of 2018.[11]
Almost all wildlife declines in both diversity and abundance in oil palm plantations.[12]
