The FDA’s decision to eliminate trans fats from use in packaged foods in favor of tropical oils did not consider the economic, social, and environmental outcomes of increased use of tropical oils. The video from Rainforest Action Network (2013) intelligibly explains one of the adverse outcomes of increased use of tropical oils. I think that the video captures the main point of all environmental issues of modern society. The video conveys that nature and animals, such as orangutans, cannot speak for themselves even though they are directly affected by environmental issues. Eliminating trans fats and resorting to the use of tropical will have positive social impacts, improving the population’s health status. In the context of economic consequences of increased use of tropical oils, it can reduce the cost of health services in the long-term perspective as fewer people will be affected by cardiovascular diseases. However, according to WWF (n.d.), around ten million hectares of forests are destroyed yearly for palm oil plantations. Therefore, the policies should consider all consequences, including the negative impact of the increased use of tropical oils on the environment in tropical deforestation.
Boycotting the use of palm oils will not bring significant results; therefore, it is necessary to identify alternative measures. Overcoming the environmental issues caused by eliminating trans fats requires increased supervision of sustainability measures in palm oil production. Thus, one of the possible ways to promote sustainable production of palm oil is raising customers’ awareness about the adverse outcomes of increased palm oil production. According to Moulds and Howard (2014), raising awareness on environmental issues caused by unsustainable palm oil production in the Asian market segment can determine the global trend for the use of sustainable palm oil. In other countries, boycotting the use of unsustainable palm oil can also impact the manufacturers. The companies that use palm oils for their products depend on customers’ support. Therefore, customers can influence the palm oil market by requiring most companies to use sustainable oil for their products.
References
Moulds, J., & Howard, E. (2014). 10 things you need to know about sustainable palm oil. The Guardian. Web.
Rainforest Action Network. (2013). Amazing! Orangutan asks girl for help in sign language [Video]. YouTube. Web.
WWF. (n.d.). Forests. Web.