Palm oil is a type of edible vegetable oil which is derived from the palm fruit, grown on the African oil palm tree. Today, the major amount of all palm oil globally is produced and exported from Indonesia and Malaysia and used in many household products, confectionery and other items. Why does that matter to you and me?
According to the World Wildlife Fund, an area the equivalent size of 300 football fields of rainforest is cleared every hour (yes, every hour!) to make way for palm oil production. This is responsible for pushing many species to extinction, and if we do nothing to try to change this, animals like the Orangutan and Sumatran tiger could become extinct within the next few years, a disaster for future generations. The clearing of the land is a significant factor in climate change and affects the way the local people live. When the rainforest land is being destroyed, the local people who depend on it for their survival are finding themselves with no choice but to become plantation workers, faced with poor working conditions, they often earn barely enough income to survive and support their families.
Why do we care? It all sounds very technical and complex, but actually it is a simple and recognised ongoing issue. Huge companies, taking what they want from the land, to make great profit.
Here at Choc affair we believe no matter how large or small a business, we can and should all play our part to make a difference to ensure our world survives for future generations and to this end we are also looking at all our packaging components to see where we can make continued improvements within our sustainability. Our Passion is to be part of positive change in the world, not in a big way but in small everyday ways, through our purchasing choices, employment practices and charitable efforts.
Is this why have we chosen to eliminate Palm oil? In a nut shell, Yes. By choosing to remove any ingredient using this oil from our chocolate range we feel we are contributing to the welfare of our planet. We know it’s a tiny contribution, but one worth doing in our opinion giving you the choice to purchase Palm Oil Free Chocolate.