Why do you think that oil palms grow rapidly in the conditions that support a tropical rainforest?
1 Answer
Yes, they do well in the tropics, but they have a number of pros/cons to growing them.
Explanation:
Pros:
Palm Oil generates 10 times the amount of energy that it consumes.
It is said that palm oil can help to reduce poverty since it generates returns of over $3,000 per hectare vs. $100 for conventional agriculture.
Researchers believe that the high antioxidant of red palm oil makes it a natural weapon against cancer.
Palm oil makes excellent cooking oil and doesn't lose valuable nutrients when it’s heated.
* Palm oil is a source for biofuels and bio diesel used for power plants and other renewable energy purposes throughout the world.
Palm fruit is rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and other phytonutrients.
Cons:
- Since palm oil is in such high demand, rainforests the size of 5 football fields disappear every minute.
- Soils in rain forests become eroded to make way for palm oil plantations.
- 83% of the world’s palm oil is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia meaning in 15 years 98% of their rainforests will disappear because of deforestation.
- When palm oil forests are cleared large amounts of carbon dioxide is released making Indonesia the 3rd largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world.
From: http://ecomerge.blogspot.ca/2011/04/understanding-palm-oil-pros-and-cons-of_06.html
