Global Shortages Are Pushing Food Producers Back Toward Palm Oil

Food producers, responding to consumer demand for sustainable options, have spent years sourcing alternatives for palm oil, a versatile product derived from the oil palm tree, whose farming has led to the destruction of rainforests in Southeast Asia, including critical habitat for endangered orangutans. Now the war in Ukraine is disrupting more than half the global supply of sunflower oil—a substitute of choice for the palm oil found in potato chips, cookies, and nut butters—and consumer goods manufacturers are reversing course.

Supermarket chains in the UK, which have made efforts to shift away from palm oil, have recently had to acknowledge the U-turn. Iceland Foods Ltd., based in Deeside, England, in 2018 pledged to remove all palm oil from its own-brand lines but has reverted to using certified sustainable palm in at least 25 products—including frozen garlic bread and sponge puddings—even as the grocer prioritizes replacing sunflower oil with other edible oils such as rapeseed. Wm Morrison Supermarkets says it’s working with suppliers to find appropriate alternatives to sunflower oil, including sustainable palm oil. And J Sainsbury Plc says it may temporarily use sustainable palm oil in some products.