Switzerland urged to declare palm oil in non-food products

Malaysia is the second leading producer of palm oil worldwide, after Indonesia. Keystone / Hotli Simanjuntak

On Monday, indigenous delegates from Malaysia and the Bruno Manser Fund presented a petition for mandatory declaration of palm oil in non-food products. Some 12,000 signatures have been deposited with the Federal Chancellery.

“What the palm oil industry is doing to our rainforests is worse than deforestation,” said indigenous activist Mutang Urud, quoted in a Bruno Manser Fund press release.

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About 85% of the world’s palm oil comes from Malaysia and Indonesia, according to the tropical forest protection organization. However, the cultivation of palm oil takes place at the expense of tropical forests.

Declaring palm oil in foodstuffs has been mandatory in Switzerland since 2016, but not for non-food products. However, this vegetable oil is used in many products such as candles, soaps, cosmetics, cleaning products and paints.

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