Millions more dollars have been invested by a Government superannuation fund in an international palm oil company embroiled in allegations of labour abuse on some of its Indonesian plantations. Related Content NZ zoos join palm oil label fight Palm kernel imports drop sharply as farmers adjust to lower milk prices Big city mayors join palm oil label campaignIn New Zealand, the use of palm kernel extract (PKE) - a waste product from palm oil production - as supplementary feed on dairy farms has become increasingly controversial because of the palm oil industry's association with rainforest destruction in Indonesia and habitat loss. "Until palm oil can be produced sustainably and certified independently, we shouldn't have a bar of it." Around palm oil, the fund had actively encouraged the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, of which Wilmar was a member, to lift its standards further by including human rights assessments. It comes as New Zealand and Australia is next month expected to vote on whether to make it mandatory for products containing palm oil to be clearly labelled, although this was on nutritional grounds and also applied to other vegetable oils.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 12, 2017 03:00 UTC