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How Palm Oil Became the World's Most Used, Most Hated Fat Source

Palm oil is everywhere today: in food, soap, lipstick, even newspaper ink. It's been called the world's most hated crop because of its association with deforestation. But despite boycott campaigns, the world uses more palm oil than any other vegetable oil - over 73 million tons in 2020.

That's because palm oil is cheap. But this controversial commodity hasn't always been cheap. It became that way thanks to legacies of colonialism and exploitation that still shape today's industry and that make it challenging to shift palm oil onto a more sustainable path, writes Jonathan E. Robins for The Conversation.

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