palm oil
edible and biocombustible vegetable oil from fruit of oil palms
AI overview
Palm oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the fruit of oil palm trees and is used in food products and as a biofuel. It matters because its widespread production and use have significant environmental and economic impacts globally.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
Palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the reddish mesocarp (pulp) of the fruit of the African oil palm. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from oil crops in 2017. Palm oils are easier to stabilize and maintain quality of flavor and consistency in ultra-processed foods, so they are frequently favored by food manufacturers. Globally, humans consumed an average of 7.7 kg (17 lb) of palm oil per person in 2015. Demand has also increased for other uses, such as cosmetics and biofuels, encouraging the growth of palm oil plantations in tropical countries.