3 ms·
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: Palm oil is the most efficient oil to extract by practically a factor of 2 [1]. So in the long term, if global sup
by matthewaveryusa 7y ago
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: Palm oil is the most efficient oil to extract by practically a factor of 2 [1]. So in the long term, if global supply increases or stays stable, if we replace palm oil crops with another crop, eventually we'll make the problem worse and face more deforestation.
[1] according to this http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_yield.html
I wish the article would go more in depth into what it would take:
>Because when done right, oil palms can yield the highest amount of oil per acre of land, and if Western countries drastically decrease their demand for palm oil, that could bring a harsh disaster for many now reliant on a Western thirst for the oil.
- Gravityloss 7y agoYour comment has a lot of assumptions. For example if the choice is between a palm oil biodiesel powered car or an electric one, it makes a difference.
- matthewaveryusa 7y agoExactly, the focus should be on reducing consumption which, like you mentioned, comes down to consumer choice and policy. less biodiesel cars means less demand means less deforestation. Thing is, everything has palm oil in it, so reducing global palm oil demand is akin to reducing global consumption of goods.
- throwbackThurs 7y agoI think we need to change consumer expectation about the products we use. Most of them don't need palm oil at all.
- SamBam 7y ago> Thing is, everything has palm oil in it I feel like this is unnecessarily hyperbolic, unless I'm ignorant about the true spread of palm oil in "everything." This site [1] says that 72% of palm oil is used for food stuffs, all processed foods, which anyone can eat less of. Most of the remainder is in soap products. That doesn't sound like "everything" to me. 1. https://www.palmoilinvestigations.org/about-palm-oil.html https://www.palmoilinvestigations.org/about-palm-oil.html
- adrianN 7y agoThe only product I consume (occasionally) that has palm oil in it is soup concentrate. The trick is not buying processed food.
- scythe 7y agoEven ignoring biodiesel, vegetable oils are in high demand for lubrication, and electric motors use less. Hopefully the switch away from heat engines will decrease overall demand for lubricants and reduce industrial vegetable oil consumption.
- Robotbeat 7y agoReminds me of the Jevons Paradox. It's so efficient to produce that it's worth blanketing whole tropics in palm oil plantations to maximize the economic productivity of developing countries... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox (I'm not a huge fan of biofuels for this reason.)