06/01/2009 (Examiner.com) - Palm oil is used as a common ingredient in many foods such as cookies and microwave popcorns. It is also used for the making of cosmetics such as lipsticks as well. It is placed in some forms of soaps and one big positive of this oil is that it can be used as a Biofuel and is a great alternative to fossil fuels that we depend on so much.

Palm oil sounds like a great addition to the uses that we need everyday, but unfortunately palm oil is growm on plantations that endanger the ecosystems on which they are developed. There is more bad news with palm oil; as the demand for the oil grows the plantations need to grow and this is the most significant cause of rainforest deforestation in areas such as Malaysia, Indonesia and even some parts of the States as well.

In Indonesia along the land used to product palm oil has more than doubled in the last decade threatening the ecosystem for many native animals in that area. The orangutan, the Asian elephant and rhino to name a few. These animals could see extinction starting with the orangutan and hitting more and more animal species as the demand for palm oil grows.

These plantations not only take away land, they also pollute the ground and ground water with the use of pesticides and even erosion.

With these dangers where should one turn? There are other ways to get the benefits of palm oil without adding to the problems it has already caused. Olive oil, sunflower and even canola oils can be a great substitute for the palm oil and buying palm oil that comes from a smaller farm that can have less of an effect on migration patterns of animals and even smaller farms can be sustainable ones as well. Read the label before purchasing to make sure. Avoid palm oil in cosmetics and foods that you buy that are already made and prepackaged with the oil. Support companies that are apart of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Production (RSPO) which is part of the World Wildlife Fund.