In a speech to DEFRA this week British MP Caroline Spelman announced that the palm oil industry is currently unsustainable
16/07/2010 (Food And Drink Digital) - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Caroline Spelman, delivered the speech to the Global Business of Biodiversity Symposium entitled ‘Biodiversity and the bottom line’.

During the speech, Spelman drew particular attention to the palm oil market.

“It’s used in everything from cosmetics to cakes – at least one in every 10 products on our supermarket shelves now contains it,” Spelman pointed out. “We need palm oil and so do the economies which produce it – Indonesia alone employs two million people the industry.”

Spelman projected that palm oil demand would double by 2020, and that said that palm oil plantations are the single greatest cause of permanent forest loss in South East Asia. She also said that converting carbon-rich peat land soils to plantations is driving up global greenhouse gas emissions, destroying tropical habitats and threatening entire species.

“Despite the best efforts of many – both in industry and amongst NGO’s – this isn’t currently a sustainable industry,” Spelman said. “I believe we have a responsibility to work more closely together to help turn it into one that is.”

Spelman has announced that, starting next month, the government will begin mapping the UK’s consumption of palm oil.

“Working with businesses, we aim to map the palm oil supply chain to the UK, including public procurement, to find out where we are using sustainable palm oil, what we are using it for and how we are sourcing it,” Spelman said. “Working with companies and NGOs, we aim to use our findings to produce a plan to help shift Britain’s sourcing of palm oil to a sustainable footing.”

In the speech, she admitted that current global target to significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity will not be met.

At the same time, Spelman emphasized the financial cost of reducing biodiversity.

“This month, for example, we’ve learned that the cost to the UK of losing bees and other pollinators could be as much as £440 million a year – that’s 13 percent of the country’s entire income from farming,” she said.