Sustainability Challenges in Palm Oil – Webinar – Pietro Paganini
On April 29 I took part to the online seminar Sustainability Challenges in Palm Oil in South Asia, organised by the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC).
The virtual roundtable was organised to bring in experts together to discuss the current state of palm oil and sustainability challenges faced by the sector in South Asia. The experts deliberated upon the various opportunities and efforts taken towards sustainable production in major palm oil producing countries- Malaysia and Indonesia and how other countries in South Asia can learn from them.
Experts discussed the major challenges being faced by the industry, especially in sustainable production of palm oil. The event also saw experts sharing their recommendations to promote sustainable palm oil in the region, counter emerging challenges, e.g., perception about being unhealthy, cause of deforestation etc., and ways to deepen coordination and cooperation among the countries within the ecosystem.
My talk presented the drivers of the anti palm oil campaign in Europe, its roots and the arguments (fake news) used by anti palm oil advocates.
You can watch the webinar here >>> or here below
Briefly I introduced the following topics
- The origin of the anti palm oil sentiment
- History of the anti palm oil campaign
- Commercial drivers: farmers and oil/fat producers
- USA anti palm oil campaign
- French boycotters
- The shift toward the supermarket
- The power of the label
- Palm oil free claims or free from palm oil
- A commercial war
- Protectionism
- The rise of palm oil
- Food safety and security
- Certified Sustainable Palm Oil
- Certification schemes
- How to promote palm oil reputation and improve consumers’ perception
- How Italy changed perspectives
