The Star Online (01/05/2018) - FOOD security is a major concern throughout the world with global population now exceeding seven billion. Coupled with the increasing per capita food consumption worldwide, it is understandable that many countries are anxious about having enough food to meet their growing demand.

As countries become more developed and purchasing power increases, not only would the demand for growing food change, so also would the people’s diet preferences.

Studies have shown that when people have more money at their disposal, their intake of meat products also rises. It has also been shown that in more developed economies like the United States and European Union, food consumption may be more than three to five times that in developing economies. China is a clear example of a country which has witnessed a dramatic increase in the per capita intake of meat as the economy expands.

The growing demand for meat proteins has also translated into an expanding demand for animal feed. In the last decade or so, the world has witnessed a large expansion in the cultivation of such major feed crops, especially soybean and corn. Large tracts of land have been cleared to grow these crops.

Take, for example, the expansion of land for soybean farming in Brazil and Argentina. Many have expressed outrage since much of the expansion has encroached into sensitive forest areas where environmentalists are also concerned about loss of biodiversity and reduction in the global sinks for greenhouse gases.

Along with the expansion in soybean farming, large areas are also cleared to support livestock farming, especially cattle, which present another problem. Methane gas from the metabolic habits of cattle and other livestock complicates the global effort to reverse climate change. At 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, methane is more devastating as a greenhouse gas.

Similar expansion in the livestock business is also being seen in the US and China.

However, the global warming potential of the livestock industry has not attracted as much attention as the misguided environmental perception on palm oil. This is explained by some as the developed versus developing country syndrome. Palm oil is a product of only developing nations, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, while the livestock business is also massive among the developed economies, especially the US. Palm oil is therefore regarded as a much easier target to pick a fight with.

But this is where the critics of palm oil are very much mistaken. Looking at the many credentials of palm oil, we should actually be grateful for this unique product of nature. Palm oil is truly nature’s gift to the world.

Firstly, it is clear that the world is running short of arable land to grow food. At the same time, the global food demand continues to rise, driven by the growth in population as well as better purchasing power among world consumers. It would therefore be in the global interest to plant food crops with higher yields on the limited land available.

In the edible oil crops category, no other oil can match the high productivity of palm oil, which is almost 10 times higher.

Secondly, unlike the other competing oil crops, oil palm is a perennial whereas the others are all annuals. Annual crops such as soybean, sunflower and rapeseed disturb the soils more. This means that in order to restore the virility of the soils, massive amounts of chemical fertilisers have to be deployed. And we all know this is environmentally unhealthy.

Oil palm, on the other hand, is the closest one can get to the natural forest. Once planted, the land remains undisturbed for at least the next 25 years after which it will be due for replanting.

Add these to the fact that oil palm is the only oil crop which gives two different oils, palm oil and palm kernel oil, and it helps cushion the global oil prices, many wonder why some are still critical of this wonderful oil.

By right, the entire humanity should be grateful for having palm oil. It is a clear example of a crop which can help us overcome the global food security issue. We should stop ridiculing palm oil!

PROFESSOR DATUK DR AHMAD IBRAHIM

Fellow Academy of Sciences Malaysia

UCSI University

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2018/05/01/accept-palm-oil-as-a-wonderful-gift/#XJ8X1Gg87wE02wTp.99