Can consumers understand that there is more to palm oil than deforestation?

Abstract

Environmental factors, such as climate change, with an array of social conflicts from labour conditions to land rights continue to refocus the spotlight on palm oil. Often depicted alongside deforestation, habitat destruction and biodiversity loss, palm oil tends to be viewed critically, especially by societies in palm oil importing countries. Oil palm cultivation, when poorly managed, can have severe ecological effects. However, the fact that it is the highest yielding vegetable oil complicates discussions around palm oil. Even if all palm oil was replaced with the second highest yielding vegetable oil, soybean oil, a six-fold amount of land would be required to make ends meet. Aspects such as these are not often at the forefront of consumers' minds. Using an online survey, this paper explores what German consumers (n = 1220) associate with palm oil and what they know about the geography of its production. Building on this, we investigate how society deals with the concept of indirect land use change and the role that information can play in encouraging a move away from a binary (good/bad) opinion of palm oil, and instead towards one that considers both the indirect effects related to oil palm cultivation and the feasibility of alternatives. Results show that while the effect size for different variables varies, the provision of information can especially influence how individuals understand issues of indirect land use change. However, when comparing the perceived sustainability of certified palm oil to other vegetable oils, it does not fare much better. Hence, while information can be useful to raise awareness about specific aspects, it alone is generally insufficient to encourage deeper thinking related to the complexity of different sustainability dimensions compared to more readily understandable aspects such as biodiversity loss. These findings are salient as they highlight the risk that perceptions of vegetable oil sustainability may not be in keeping with actual environmental sustainability, whereby alternatives are more glorified than their reality. This is especially important when considering which vegetable oil is capable of continuing to supply our increasing demands while doing so in the most environmentally- and socially benign way possible.