Sweet foods can be bad for you, but some are bad for the environment, too. France’s ecology minister is calling for a boycott of Nutella, the hazelnut chocolate spread, saying its use of palm oil is contributing to deforestation in Asia and Latin America.
France’s environment
minister, Segolene Royal, said people should stop eating Nutella
as one of its primary ingredients is palm oil, and producing it
leads to massive deforestation.
“We have to replant a lot of trees because there is massive
deforestation that also leads to global warming. We should stop
eating Nutella, for example, because it’s made with palm
oil,” Royal said.
“Oil palms have replaced trees, and therefore caused
considerable damage to the environment,” she said.
Ségolène Royal appelle à boycotter le
Nutellartl-fr
She made the comments on France’s Canal+ TV on Monday evening.
The program’s presenter, Yann Barthès, objected to her boycott
call, saying the spread tasted good. Royal agreed, but insisted
that people should stop eating it nevertheless.
#SegoleneRoyal
let’s start with “foie gras”…#Nutella
rules!!!!
— Michael Guidarelli (@casapanini84) June
17, 2015
Ferrero, the Italian
chocolatier that makes Nutella, said it was aware of the
environmental impact of palm oil production and that it made
commitments to making its supply of the ingredient sustainable
and ethical under the so-called RSPO initiative.
How can one join the boycott of #Nutella
after not having bought any in yrs on grounds of cost-benefit
analysis? Asking for a friend.
— Marian T. Wirth (@mtwirth) June
17, 2015
As of 2014, Ferrero’s entire supply of palm oil is
RSPO-certified, the company insisted in a statement Tuesday.
Ferrero sources nearly four-fifths of its palm oil from Malaysia.
The rest comes from Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Brazil.
So I need to stop eating #Nutella AND
the internet might be rationed in order to save the planet?
Stupid Earth.
— Anisa Subedar (@OnlyAnisa) June
17, 2015
In 2012, French lawmakers tried to put a 300 percent tax on palm
oil. They argued that it was fattening and bad for the
environment. The legislation was defeated.