Malaysian palm oil: Surviving the food versus fuel dispute for a sustainable future

Abstract

For the past few decades, palm oil has gone through a revolution that few would have predicted. From a humble source of edible oil that was heavily criticized as being un-healthy and un-fit for human consumption, it has proven itself based on scientific findings that it is indeed one of the most nutritious edible oils in the world. Besides, palm oil, the cheapest vegetable oil in the market has diversified as one of the main feedstock for oleo-chemical industries. Recently, with the price of crude petroleum hitting records height every other day, palm oil has become one of the few feasible sources for biodiesel, a renewable substitute for petroleum-derived diesel. Nevertheless, the conversion of palm oil into biodiesel has again received criticism from various NGOs worldwide, mainly on extinction of orang utans, deforestation and particularly the food versus fuel dispute. It was claimed that the conversion of food crops to fuel would significantly increase the number of undernourished people in the world. Malaysia, being the world second largest producer of palm oil, is not spared from this criticism. On the contrary, in the present study it was found that palm oil is indeed the most economical and sustainable source of food and biofuel in the world market. Besides, it was shown that it has the capacity to fulfill both demands simultaneously rather than engaging in priority debate. Nevertheless, fuel is now a necessity rather than a luxury for economy and development purposes. A few strategies will then be presented on how palm oil can survive in this feud and emerged as the main supply of affordable and healthy source of edible oil while concurrently satisfying the market demand for biodiesel throughout the world.