Go Haze-Free.
Join the Fight for Clean Air.
Palm Oil and Haze
To grow palm oil, large areas of peatland forests are being cleared and drained, making these ecosystems highly susceptible to fire due to the dry landscape and flammable organic material.
These forest and land fires are the main cause of haze, a socio-ecological crisis which contributes greatly to climate change, and affects public health.
Should I just boycott palm oil?
The simple answer is NO.
Palm oil is the most land efficient oil crop, yielding 5-10 more than other types of vegetable oil, such as canola oil. Boycotting palm oil may lead to greater deforestation and induce more biodiversity loss due to companies switching to less efficient vegetable oils to meet the demand. Furthermore, many farmers’ livelihoods depend on palm oil cultivation in Indonesia and Malaysia. Boycotting without providing an alternative may damage their livelihood.
85% of the world’s palm oil is produced in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Palm oil is almost unavoidable and can be found in most of our packaged food, cosmetics, cleaning products, and as fuel sources.
What about all the deforestation linked to the palm oil industry?
Palm oil is often portrayed as the main cause of deforestation. However, many common agricultural products like cattle, soybeans and corn farming are also main causes of deforestation around the world. The solution lies in HOW we produce and engage in agriculture. Certified Sustainable Palm Oil is produced by responsible companies which do not engage in practices such as burning and deforestation. The closest we have to sustainable palm oil is palm oil certified by Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
Palm oil is here to stay.
The solution is to grow oil palm without causing the haze.
What can I do to help?
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Hold governments accountable
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Support haze-free foodstands in Singapore. Check out our Eatery list below
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Learn more about our peatlands restoration efforts and join our expeditions!
Haze-Free Foodstand
In 2016, we conducted a survey covering 362 outlets from 33 restaurant chains and found that more than 90% of local chain restaurants use palm oil in their cooking. As a business, we believe you can have a big impact, by switching to Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) to protect our forests.
We launched Haze-Free Foodstand to promote the use of sustainable palm oil, otherwise known as haze-free palm oil, in businesses and consumers.
Are You a Business?
We can help you make the switch! Switching is very simple, most of our eatery partners went through the transition in 2-4 weeks time. ​We also provide a “Haze-free Palm Oil Policy Template” for you to use in formulating a haze-free palm oil policy.
Check out this interview with Ann from VeganBurg on how they felt about switching to RSPO-certified cooking oil:
Support other Haze-Free Foodstands in Singapore!
Visit our Eatery Directory below:
For questions, feedback, or partnerships:
© PM.Haze is a Singapore registered charity with UEN no: T16SS0125L