THE TS BLOG + NEWS

Whole Foods bans unsustainable palm oil from its products

› Posted March 1, 2009, by Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com

Oil palm seed. Photo by Rhett A. Butler

Whole Foods pledges to use only sources of palm oil that have been independently verified and certified to meet environmental and social sustainability criteria in its private label brand products by 2012.

America's largest organic grocer has announced its products will no longer use palm oil sourced from unsustainable producers, reports the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an activist group that has led a campaign against destructive palm oil production. The move adds pressure on the palm oil industry to develop an effective and credible certification system for palm oil.

"Whole Foods Market is concerned with the social and environmental impacts of palm oil production in tropical rainforest ecosystems around the world," Whole Foods said in a statement. "Whole Foods is committed to protecting rainforests, communities and our global climate, and therefore....

Click here for the full article