Crunching Snacks and Slurping Noodles... Orangutans Are Dying [Delicious Stories]

Orangutan Habitats Overlap with Oil Palm Plantations
Slash-and-Burn Farming and Plantations Leave Orangutans Homeless and Starving
Fewer Than 70,000 Remain... Facing the Threat of Extinction

Editor's NoteIt is said that the first snacks were discovered in the ancient Mesopotamian civilization. In a way, snacks have been with humanity at every moment in history. From biscuits and chocolate to ice cream, we bring you delicious stories behind the snacks we love.

Orangutans may face extinction because of snacks. Although the two may seem completely unrelated, in reality, orangutans have become victims of the global processed food industry's expansion. This is because their habitats have been destroyed to enable the mass production of palm oil, a key ingredient in snacks.

Palm Oil Is Found in 50% of Supermarket Products

Palm oil is used as a main ingredient in nearly all processed foods. It is found not only in snacks, bread, instant noodles, and chocolate, but also in products like soap and toothpaste. Extracted from the fruit of the oil palm, palm oil is much cheaper than animal fats such as tallow, and its versatility makes it efficient for use in various light manufacturing processes. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the world's largest nonprofit nature conservation organization, palm oil is used in 50% of products distributed in supermarkets today. In some countries, including the United States, it is also processed into biofuel or animal feed.

Expansion of palm oil production, the main ingredient in snacks, destroys the habitat of orangutans. Pixabay, Max Planck Institute

The oil palm, which bears the fruit used to make palm oil, grows in tropical climates. As a result, the main regions for palm oil cultivation are in Southeast Asia and some African countries. In particular, Indonesia and Malaysia are the world's top two producers of palm oil, accounting for 83% of global supply last year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The problem is that the palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia overlap with orangutan habitats. Asian orangutans live in the tropical rainforests of Borneo in Malaysia and Sumatra in Indonesia, and both populations are now critically endangered.

Palm Oil Plantations: A 'Green Desert' for Orangutans

Why does palm oil cultivation threaten orangutans? The answer lies in the ecology of palm trees. Palm oil agriculture involves growing seedlings in greenhouses until they are ready to be transplanted into plantations. At this stage, a monoculture farming method is used, where only one type of plant-the oil palm-is grown over the entire area. This is known as a "plantation."

A palm tree plantation. Save the Orangutan website

To maximize the area for palm oil plantations, farmers use slash-and-burn agriculture. They set fire to existing forests and use the resulting ash as fertilizer for the palm seedlings. As a result, orangutans lose their natural habitats.

Once the palm oil plantations have fully matured, the problem worsens. Although palm plantations may appear similar to typical tropical rainforests, orangutans cannot eat oil palm fruit. Moreover, the destruction of forest diversity causes orangutans to lose their food sources, leading to starvation and death. For orangutans, palm oil plantations are essentially a "green desert."

Fewer Than 70,000 Orangutans Remain

A 5-year-old orangutan being rescued in the wetlands area of Indonesia. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

The orangutan population has plummeted over the past several decades and is now on the brink of extinction. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Bornean orangutan population-the largest group-has dropped to around 57,000, an 80% decline since 1973. The Sumatran orangutan population is estimated to be below 7,000, and the Tapanuli orangutan, another critically endangered species, is believed to have only about 800 individuals remaining.

Recently, some companies and international organizations have been seeking ways to cultivate palm oil while protecting orangutans. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a leading example. Established through the cooperation of major palm oil companies led by the WWF, RSPO is a certification system that only grants certification to palm oil produced while separately protecting orangutan habitats. Today, multinational food companies such as Unilever use RSPO-certified palm oil as a raw material.