What can people do to help?

Because palm oil is so pervasive, it can be difficult to avoid. Brands understand that people might be trying to avoid palm oil and often give it different names in their ingredient lists such as “vegetable oil” or “vegetable fat”.

However, it is possible to purchase products made with palm oil deemed sustainable. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certifies some palm oil as sustainable if its production has been deemed socially and environmentally responsible, and consumers can look out for its label on products.

Non government organisations have persuaded many of the biggest companies to sign global commitments to drop “dirty” palm oil, but there is a lot of scepticism about now effective these measures have been. Firms have been accused of only sticking to the most basic requirements for sustainability, meaning forests are still at risk.