As the European Commission prepares to release its long-awaited and controversial review of pharmaceutical innovation incentives, a coalition of think tanks, NGOs and academics from a range of European countries today urge policymakers to put innovation at the heart of it. “Innovation is paramount to Europe’s future economic growth. Yet EU member states underspend on […]
Palm oil industry leads the way regarding the number of commitments to reducing deforestation in supply chains, shows 2017 Supply Change report*. Data suggests that progress reporting for palm commitments is becoming an industry standard, that can be attributed in part to the widespread proliferation of their main certification programs (RSPO, FSC). On the other hand, commitment rates […]
“Five Years of Failure!” That’s the message a global coalition of 62 think tanks and rights advocates are sending to the new WHO Director Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus in reference to the plain packaging policy the organization continues to promote. Five years ago, Australia became the first country to fully implement plain packaging by denying all […]
Why has Barilla replaced palm oil? In the 2017 Sustainability Report, Barilla states that alternative oils and fats are less sustainable than palm oil. With more than 50 products analyzed, our comparative study shows that palm oil free products do not have lower saturated fats necessarily. So, why has Barilla replaced palm oil? The answer is simple: capturing […]
The Food Quality and Preference study, conducted by the Federal Polytechnic of Zurich in collaboration with EUFIC (European Food Information Council), focused on the relationship between consumers and food-related information such as packaging info, claims, advertising and labeling. Many companies use the “free from …” claim to attract new customers, but they often misinform them, as […]
By passing the RED II Directive the European Union has once again shown its hypocrisy. While MEPs and Lobbies cheer, EU citizens and small businesses will pay the price The EU bans the use of palm oil in biofuels by 2020 but saves all the other vegetable oils, such as soybean, sunflower and rapeseed. These crops […]
Asian growers respond to the chatter of desperate European lobbies with facts The Journal of Oil Palm, Environment & Health has presented Building a Sustainable Future Together: Malaysian Palm Oil and European Consumption, a document, aimed at the European Commission, Parliament and institutions, that dismantles all the accusations made against Asian producers contained in the […]
The “palm oil free” label now found on a huge variety of food products is the result of a purely commercial operation with the clear aim of shaking up a market that has been sluggish for years now. By getting rid of an ingredient, companies are convinced they will be able to win over slices […]
The palm oil free claim is a decoy. It is now so apparent that to have admitted this are the very companies that have used it as a marketing tool. In fact, the “palm oil free” label deceives consumers into thinking that the product has improved. But this is not always the case. The palm oil free claim is a […]
KLM sticks with sustainable palm oil. The Dutch airline has asked its suppliers to only use sustainable palm oil. The aim is to combine the protection of the forests to the promotion of sustainability with the quality that palm oil guarantees. EU Parochialism Many EU companies – with the usual parochialism – abandon palm oil purely for […]