It's an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees, the scientific name is Elaeis guineensis. Two types of oil can be produced; crude palm oil comes from squeezing the fleshy fruit, and palm kernel oil which comes from crushing the kernel, or the stone in the middle of the fruit.

What part of the tree does palm oil come from?

palm fruit Palm oil is a type of vegetable oil that comes from the palm fruit, which grows on a specific type of tree called African oil palm. Originally from west and south-west Africa, it was introduced by Dutch colonists to Indonesia and Malaysia in the late 19th century.

What kind of palm tree is used for palm oil?

Elaeis guineensis is a species of palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat. It is the principal source of palm oil.

Why palm oil is so bad?

The Environment “Palm oil has been and continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world's most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino.”

Does palm oil grow on trees?

Palm oil (PO) is obtained from the flesh of the fruit and Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) is produced by extracting the oil from the internal seed (Kernel). Every oil palm tree requires approximately 3m diameter clear around the base of each tree to allow full growth.

What is made from palm oil?

But Palm Oil is also found in beauty products such as lipsticks, shampoo and soap. It's found in several brands of packaged bread, because it allows loaves to remain soft on supermarket shelves for longer. It's found in instant noodles, packaged ice cream, chocolate, detergents, industrial pizza dough and margarine…

Where does palm oil come from orangutan?

Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil, and there are more than 4 million hectares of plantations in Sumatra alone – an area the size of Switzerland. Much of this development has come at the expense of rainforests, including vast swathes of orangutan habitat.

How is palm oil tree?

Palm oil production begins with palm oil seeds. … Palm oil fruit grow in dense bunches known as Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB). To harvest the FFB, the harvester uses a long sickle to remove it from the palm tree.