Vegetable Oils: Two Sides of the Climate Crisis Spectrum

Open up any kitchen cabinet, and you'll likely find at least one bottle of cooking oil. Oils have been used in the kitchen for generations. They're used in salad dressing, in baked goods, to fry food, and to grease the surfaces of cookware. Funnily enough, most don't come from actual vegetables. Instead, they tend to come from seeds, nuts, fruits, and grains. Canola oil, for example, comes from the seeds of the canola plant. While the labeled vegetable oil bottle you find on shelves is typically made from a variety of oils, including soybean and corn oil. Other plant oils include peanut oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, avocado oil, and olive oil. Of this list, olive oil has been incorporated into the human diet the longest, stemming from the Mediterranean region.

Over the years, there has been a fixation on the health risks and benefits of all these oils. However, the discussion on their sustainability and effect on the planet has been a more recent topic. Despite its versatility, how much risk does vegetable oil pose to the environment and our health?

In The Beginning

Vegetable oils weren't always a common household item. Early in human history, people heated animal fats to obtain oil. In southern Europe, it is estimated that olive oil was produced some time around 4000 BC. In Asian countries like Japan and China, soy oil was created in 2000 BC. Over in North America, oil was derived from sunflower seeds and peanuts by beating them into a paste and boiling it afterwards. The oil would separate and rise to the surface of the water where it was collected. Aside from these early sources, the long list of cooking oils we have today came after advancements in technology that allowed for updated processes. It wasn't until the 20th century that vegetable oils were refined using machinery. In 1911 Proctor & Gamble came out with Crisco, short for crystalized cottonseed oil. It resembled lard, was marketed as a cleaner cooking fat, and became a huge success. Today, plant oils make up a 100 billion-dollar industry. Advancements in production have also allowed oil to be processed using chemicals. However, there is still a good amount that is made by pressing the plant or seed itself. The outcome of each method determines a different set of health benefits and risks.

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Health Benefits And Risks

During the last century, vegetable oils rose in popularity while animals fats fell at the wayside. These days it's much more common to see an olive oil bottle in the kitchen pantry than it is to see lard or tallow. While oils from plants and seeds are often touted as a healthier alternative to animal fat, they still contain fats of their own. Among the many varieties, a hierarchy exists, ranking each based on their fat content. Regular vegetable oil, for example, has a lot of polyunsaturated fats in comparison to olive, canola, and coconut oil. Avocado and olive oil are often the choices people turn to when looking for a "healthier" oil option. This is because the oils are extracted by pressing the fruits rather than using a chemical process. When seed oils are chemically processed, they are put under high temperatures. Doing so oxidizes the unsaturated fatty acids in the seeds and creates harmful byproducts. Afterwards, in order to increase the oil output, the seeds are processed with a petroleum-based solvent.

Additional chemicals are also used to neutralize the scent of the oil, and this process causes the production of trans-fatty acids. When we consume trans fats, our "bad" cholesterol increases, and our "good" cholesterol decreases. It also raises the chances of developing heart disease and blood vessel disease. Trans fats are much different from the unsaturated and saturated fats found in whole foods. The omega-3 fatty acids in oils are unsaturated fats and can help with our immune health. Omege-6 fatty acids are also unsaturated fats that regulate our genes, immunity, and blood clotting. Our bodies need omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids since we can't produce them ourselves. Even so, the current "western" diet often consumes too much of these fatty acids. It's crucial to limit consumption and keep an eye out for oils with high fatty acid content, like corn oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, and sesame oil.

Along with paying attention to the type of oil we purchase, we should also be aware of how they're produced. Opting for oils that are organic will be the best bet for those who prioritize the healthiest option. When not organic, oils like canola, soy, and corn are genetically modified.

Nonorganic oils also get sprayed down with pesticides and fertilizers, whose chemicals often lead to contaminated runoff in water. As is the case for any crop that isn't organic, pesticides used during cultivation damage the nearby ecosystems. Meanwhile, fertilization used on crops can cause eutrophication in nearby water. This is an over-enrichment of nutrients and minerals. Too many nutrients doesn't sound like something harmful, but this occurrence actually causes the water quality to deteriorate. Too much eutrophication can cause dead zones in water where oxygen is completely gone due to algal blooms. Choosing organic means you're choosing a product that doesn't contribute to these environmental issues.

Is There A Solution?

Reversing the harm that palm oil has left in Southeast Asia isn't a simple fix. Using another oil in its place could require ten times the amount of land. Nearly twenty years ago, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil was founded by environmental groups and corporations. In collaboration with oil palm producers, consumer goods manufacturers, banks, non-governmental organizations, and retailers, the RSPO sets the global standard for sustainable palm oil. The organization certifies about 19% of palm oil produced globally, and in 2011 the organization created a certification label to place on approved palm oil products. The certification's purpose is to reduce palm oil's negative effect on the planet and local communities. Certified palm oil must be made under fair working conditions, local people and their land must be protected, clearing of the forest is forbidden, wildlife must be protected, and new operations must reduce pollution and greenhouse gases. Each plantation is inspected to ensure standards are met.

Many corporations often opt to use products that are certified by third-party organizations to responsibly source and sell their goods. It is one way to help keep their supply chains "clean." However, buying certified goods only works when that certification upholds all its sustainability requirements. An article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discovered that certification did not actually reduce the occurrence of fires. Its abstract reads that "the effect of certification on deforestation in oil palm plantations remains unclear." Meanwhile, A study published in 2018 found that 40% of regions that produced certified palm oil still endured damages to their habitats, fires, and deforestation between the years 2001 and 2016. Where palm oil is concerned, there are still improvements to be made and adjustments to enact in order to establish a truly sustainable system.

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Ties To Extinction

Coconut oil is another versatile oil that comes from a palm plant. It's not often associated with the kind of bad press that palm oil receives, but its industry may not be as harm-free as the general public believes. A journal published in 2020 studies coconut oil's effect on wildlife and suggests that its production may hurt more animal species than all other kinds of plant oils. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, coconut oil production threatens an estimated 66 animal species. The Solomon Islands' Ontong Java flying fox is one species found on the IUCN's list of endangered animals. Before the development of coconut plantations, the species was often on the lands where the plantations sit today. Coconut farms currently take up 30.4 million acres of land around the world. This is about two-thirds the size of palm oil plantations.