Can Dunkin' Donuts Really Turn Its Palm Oil Green?
Dunkin' Donuts is changing its recipes — though you may not notice much difference the next time you bite into a cruller. In response to pressure from one of New York's top elected officials, the company recently announced that it will set a goal of using only 100 percent sustainable palm oil in making its donuts.
The change is the result of a campaign by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees the state's public pension fund. He's also a critic of palm oil, which is often used for frying donuts. It's harvested mainly in Asia, and its production has caused serious deforestation in Malaysia and especially in Indonesia, as tropical forests are chopped down to make room for oil palm plantations.
"The destruction of those rainforests in that area is going to have an impact on the climate issue," DiNapoli says.
Cutting down trees displaces wildlife, and it also releases the carbon stored in trunks and soils — a problem made worse in Indonesia and Malaysia, where plantations are often set up on carbon-rich peatland. Over time, the carbon in that exposed peat escapes into the atmosphere. All of that has sent greenhouse gas emissions soaring in Indonesia, the world's leading supplier of palm oil.
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