https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/10/09/png-palm-oil-undercover-sting/

" The world’s most common vegetable oil has spawned vast fortunes, while coming under scrutiny for its labor practices and environmental impact. "

This story is based on an investigative report by the advocacy group Global Witness.

Summary: Papua New Guinea struggles with deforestation, violence, and human rights abuse from the palm oil trade. Elsewhere (Indonesia), etc. orangutans are being driven to extinction by rainforest habit reduction for palm oil plantations.

It's in toothpaste, chocolate, mayo, etc. It's the 3rd most common vegetable oil in global trade.

" Many of the buyers have so-called No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation policies (NDPE), but Global Witness found some of the palm oil companies whose abuses they documented on the supply list for those three Western corporations, among others. " --WAPO.

I make it simple and don't buy anything with palm oil in it if I can help it. I don't need 1/2 saturated fat oils.

It's useful in parts of the world, but there is simply no need for us to import it for use when we grow so much oils here anyway. This paper by food scientists at U of Ghana mentions the politics of the soybean oil industry in vilifying tropical oils.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5044790/ They recommend exploring sustainable production in Nigeria and Ghana. They also note Ghanian oil farmers are abandoning it as a crop because it's not profitable and they lack support from banks or government to grow it. Maybe it simply isn't profitable without human trafficking.