Course: Engaging with Controversies in the Food System: Palm Oil

Why has palm oil become so ubiquitous as an ingredient in foods and other domestic products? It has a number of extremely useful properties: The oil has a high melting …

In this Step, you are introduced to Astron, Fani, Poppy, and Sai who are taking part in a workshop, led by Andrew and Jurgen, who discusses the complex issues surrounding …

We welcome back Astron, Fani, Poppy and Sai who share their thoughts after learning more about the complexities of palm oil and hearing from various stakeholders. The same questions are …

Congratulations! You’ve successfully completed ‘Engaging with Controversies in the Food System: Palm Oil’. We hope that you enjoyed the course and that you’ve learnt more about the controversies surrounding palm …

Nutella is made by Italian company, Ferrero. It is a delicious ‘chocolate’ spread made of sugar, milk, cocoa, hazelnuts, lecithin (soy), vanillin (an artificial flavour) and palm oil, which is …

The government of Malaysia considers its significant investment in palm oil over the past 40 years to be the backbone of its narrative of successful rural poverty eradication and national …

In 2001, WWF was instrumental in getting a small number of palm growers, manufacturers (including Unilever) and retailers (including J Sainsbury). Their collaboration led to the establishment of the Roundtable …

The oil palm tree is native to West Africa and there is evidence of its use as a staple food crop dating back more than 5,000 years. 1 It was …

Over the past two decades, global growth in palm oil production has been rapid and in direct response to ever-increasing demand for palm oil in both the food and energy …

Do you know how to find reliable information online? We’ve all heard of fake news. But when it comes to food and health stories, which sources can we trust? Sometimes …

This mock news video introduces the controversy you’ll explore in this course: palm oil. The environmental and societal problems caused by palm oil production are making headlines across the globe …

Palm oil is extracted from the palm fruit, which grows on the African oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis). Two distinct types of oil are extracted – palm oil and palm …

The idea of a ‘controversy’ is central to this course. But what is a ‘controversy’? Is it the same as a scandal? Or may be a crisis? A controversy, a …

In this course you’ll focus on one controversy, but there may be others you’ll be interested in researching. Here are ten things to bear in mind when investigating a food …

Course Educator and Associate Professor in Economics Jurgen Peci shares insight to the controversy of palm oil from a researcher’s point of view, as well as some of the vital …