This week I was innocently perusing my Sierra Club magazine (which, by-the-way, is one of my favorite magazines ever, but more on this later) when I was bombarded with the fact that Skittle, Oreos, and Girl Scout cookies, along with anything else containing palm oil is now as off limits as I can make it for myself. Here's why; palm oil is a food additive that has replaced trans fats in many processed foods (i.e. the sweet snacks mentioned above). But in order to produce this palm oil, Indonesia and Malaysia, the top palm oil producers, have cleared 25,000 square miles of native forests. This has left many orangutans without homes.
The worst part about all of this is that there is a safe, sustainable alternative. Canola oil can substitute in most cases for the dangerous palm oil. So I am laying off the sweets. It can't hurt, heck, it will probably help my health too. Isn't it funny how the things that are bad for Mama E are often bad for us too?
What have you heard about palm oil? Has anyone given it up? Has anyone heard anything about it? I also found this blog totally dedicated to the issue if you are looking for more info.
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2 comments:
oh my... yet another reason to avoid processed foods!!!!!
oh wow, i didn't know that! thanks for the heads up. i will for sure be checking the packages more carefully.
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