Kellogg Co. move supports palm oil trees grown without deforestation

It's not unusual for tropical rain forests to be cleared when oil palm plantations go in.

Palm oil is squeezed from the red fruit of the oil palm tree, primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia, for use in an ever growing list of products.

And the World Wildlife Federation says tropical forests are being cleared so rapidly that in some cases the carbon emissions from deforestation are greater than the industrial emissions of some developed countries. In many places, clearing the trees triggers enormous releases of carbon dioxide from lost forests and drained peat lands.

Orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinos on tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra are said to be threatened by the destruction of their habitat. Environmental groups are working to see companies use sustainable palm oils in the many goods which include it -- everything from cosmetics to all kinds of foods. Food companies like it because it contains no transfats. Palm oil often appears in ingredient lists as vegetable oil. 

The Battle Creek-based Kellogg Co. now is participating in a program designed to curb the unsustainable use of palm oil. Although the amounts of palm oil Kellogg's uses in each of its products is small -- on the whole the food maker uses nearly 0.1 percent of the global supply of palm oil each year -- the company says it wants to act in a socially responsible way.

The  Kellogg has agreed to purchase GreenPalm certificates covering 100 percent of its global palm oil use. GreenPalm certifies that palm oil is sustainable.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: World Wildlife Federation, and Kris Charles, Kellogg Co