By: Dr Jonathan Ellen Is palm oil a seed oil? No. Palm oil is a fruit oil. Such a simple question and one with an equally simple answer. Amazingly, the German Press Agency (DPA), one of the world’s leading news agencies, does not know the difference. In an article “Tests show reusing deep-fry seed oils…
What do a bipartisan group of Republican and Democrat U.S. Senators, 20 EU Agriculture Ministers, and Europe’s largest farming organisations all have in common? All are warning of the dangers of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), if it is not delayed or amended. Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri described EUDR as “fundamentally unfair” in…
Writing in India’s Financial Express, the eminent American physician and health expert Dr Jonathan Ellen writes that recent criticism of palm oil from Indian commentators is “as stubborn as it is unscientific” and “sadly continues to muddy the waters of debate”. Dr Ellen’s full article can be accessed online at Financial Express: https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/the-palm-oil-debate-like-diets-needs-to-be-more-balanced/3441129/ The article…
India’s commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, has openly criticized the European Union’s greenwashing of protectionist trade policies, echoing sentiments from Malaysia and other Global South nations that the EU’s current approach is “biased” and is harmful to developing world producers and exporters. During the World Trade Organization’s recent biennial conference, Goyal challenged the EU’s insertion of…
Reuters reports European Agriculture Ministers from 20 of the EU’s 27 Member States are demanding changes to EUDR, including a delay to the implementation. Led by Austria’s Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig, the Ministers urged the “Commission for a temporary suspension of the regulation allowing for a feasible implementation accompanied by a revision of the regulation.”…
The Financial Times reports that EU officials are preparing to delay a key element of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), following pushback by Malaysia and other developing nations – led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who in 2023 called for the EU to revise the EUDR, saying, “the EU (European Union) should show some sort…
Last month, the EU-based NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) published a report attacking Italian energy giant Eni’s use of Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD) in biofuel production. The report is based on scientific errors and pre-existing bias against palm oil. Unfortunately it epitomizes the hypocrisy shown by many of the promoters of environmental policymaking in…
On February 2nd, the EU convened its second Joint Task Force (JTF) meeting with Malaysia and Indonesia since the ad hoc body was formed last June. The JTF’s stated purpose is to address concerns related to the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), and a key question is whether it is the right format…
The United Kingdom Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) – an expert advisory group to the UK Government – has concluded in an official report that “Malaysia operates a mandatory deforestation-free standard [MSPO]” and so “there is a low risk that Malaysian palm oil exported to the UK would come from land that was deforested”. The…
Last week, the European Parliament voted to approve the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The vote was a formality and was pushed through as part of a sprawling mass of similar proposals, including a new carbon border tax. The result of these, especially in the case of the Deforestation Regulation, will be to impose new trade barriers…
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