Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be fed up of palm oil in everything

67 replies

clairemcnam · 10/03/2019 19:37

I wanted to buy chocolate to eat this evening in front of the telly. Not posh chocolate, just your average bar of chocolate. And everything I looked at had palm oil in it. Just so annoyed.

OP posts:
elQuintoConyo · 10/03/2019 19:38

YANBU. It is both ruining the environment and minging.

Original poster
clairemcnam · 10/03/2019 19:43

Yes! It is destroying habitat. But its not even nice. So I am sitting here with no chocolate. I just want ordinary chocolate but without palm oil.

OP posts:
SrSteveOskowski · 10/03/2019 19:47

Try Aldi or Lidl. Most of their chocolate hasn't been ruined yet.

Hiddenaspie1973 · 10/03/2019 19:49

On the plus side, my chocolate consumption has decreased.
Yanbu. I hate that so much is being destroyed for the bloody stuff. It tastes awful too.
In Borneo, they're massacring the place. The orangutans are dying, the folk are tree felling for timber. When asked what they'll do for a living when the trees are gone, they say no problem, palm plantations. They are wrecking the island and will pay with wetter, hotter and more unpredictable weather patterns.

blankittyblank · 10/03/2019 19:50

It is in everything, and it's quite scary!
But, as long as it's sustainable palm oil it's ok. In fact, it's better than veg oil and the alternatives as you get far more oil per yield... so banning it would actually be worse for the environment (assuming it was sustainable, of course)

I actually just found this list of products which use sustainable palm oil! Loads more than I realised - 6gupp2m546k1gbxng1rlf2m3-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Shopping-List-Feb-2019.pdf

Rubusfruticosus · 10/03/2019 19:59

Montezuma's doesn't use palm oil.

Original poster
clairemcnam · 10/03/2019 20:01

There is no such thing as sustainable palm oil.

OP posts:
Jenala · 10/03/2019 20:07

You might find this post about palm oil. It's initially about the Iceland advert that came out awhile back the most of the post is about palm oil and other crops. Buying products that use sustainable palm oil is possibly a better choice than avoiding it altogether for the reasons she outlines.

Jenala · 10/03/2019 20:08

X post. But no vegetable oil is good.

Mmmhmmokdear · 10/03/2019 20:08

Ritter Sport is where it's at! Delicious and no palm oil. The praline bar is out of this world.

Hollowvictory · 10/03/2019 20:09

Iceland actually have no palm oil free stuff in our store. I even asked the manager, he said they had none. Its a marketing gimmick

Original poster
clairemcnam · 10/03/2019 20:09

There is no such thing as sustainable palm oil.
www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-palm-oil-no-not-really/

It is greenwashing to try and persuade people to still buy products with palm oil in it.

I didn't know Ritter Sport did not use palm oil, thanks.

OP posts:
DuchessOfPhysics · 10/03/2019 20:10

Can anybody recommend a nice chocolate spread without palm oil?

Original poster
clairemcnam · 10/03/2019 20:11

Companies use palm oil because it is cheap. That is all.
But it tastes disgusting and oily, and all palm oil is about deforestation.

OP posts:
Iltavilli · 10/03/2019 20:13

@Duchess - the Gu chocolate spread is delicious and palm oil free

Sexnotgender · 10/03/2019 20:14

Ritter sport is so good. I love the mint one.

badg3r · 10/03/2019 20:16

I hate palm oil chocolate too, it's all slimy and disgusting. The argument for it not tasting if anything doesn't wash with me when replacing it with something that does! There was a long read guardian podcast about the tide of its use the other week. Still on the website and very interesting.

soulrider · 10/03/2019 20:17

After everyone calling for their advert not to be banned i'm surprised there's not been more backlash over Iceland
Iceland removed own label from 17 products rather than palm oil

hazeyjane · 10/03/2019 20:18

www.jonathonporritt.com/blog/sustainable-palm-oil-if-you-want-end-deforestation-stick-facts

It is a thorny issue, have you read this article by Jonathon Porritt?

NuffSaidSam · 10/03/2019 20:18

I didn't realise it was in so much tbh. I decided after Christmas to cut out palm oil, but it's in bloody everything!

It would be good to have a thread actually where we could list the palm oil free alternatives we've found?

I bought some Mother Africa peanut butter that doesn't have palm oil listed, but it was really much cheaper than the other palm oil free ones so I'm a bit suspicious! It was from the world food aisle though so maybe that's why?

Tavannach · 10/03/2019 20:20

I don't think Lindy uses palm oil in its chocolate. In some of its fillings, yes, but not in it's actual chocolate.

reallybadidea · 10/03/2019 20:20

My 30p bar of Aldi chocolate has no palm oil in it. It's quite nice, but they do fancier bars which are also palm oil-free, for a treat.

PickAChew · 10/03/2019 20:21

Coop chocolate doesn't have palm oil in.

Tavannach · 10/03/2019 20:21

Lindt, not Lindy

reluctantbrit · 10/03/2019 20:22

I stopped eating “normal” chocolate for that reason. It just tastes awful. I now treat myself and stretch a box/bar for ages.

Thanks for the Ritter Sport tip, I am German, RS is a my choldhood companion.

GU has a palm oil free spread and Lindt does one, I got it at Sainsbury around Christmas time, nothing left on the shelf but according to their website they still sell it. Far superior to Nutella but double the price.