Commodities

Are palm oil boycotts ‘marketing tricks’?

Sustainable Food & Drink Podcast

Are palm oil boycotts ‘marketing tricks’?

By Oliver Nieburg

The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) argues palm oil boycotts pave the way for unsustainable alternatives, but Greenpeace says that if the palm industry operates as usual, brands are left with little choice.

Pic: Getty Images/Bloomberg

Sustainability

100% Traceable: Olam’s tech links producers and farmers through data

By Kristine Sherred

The cocoa and spice supplier unveiled sustainability goals in 2017 with a 2020 goal of nurturing a ‘fully traceable’ cocoa supply chain. We discussed progress with Olam's North American innovation lead, when we caught up with him at IFT.

Could heavy metal regulations undo Ecuador’s value-added cocoa efforts?

Sustainable Food & Drink Podcast – Episode One

Ecuador’s sustainable cocoa future after cadmium

By Oliver Nieburg

Ecuador’s efforts to create value at origin could be damaged by the EU’s recent regulation of heavy metal cadmium in chocolate, claims the president of the country’s cocoa export association.

Tree cover loss in Colombia accelerated last year after areas formerly controlled by FARC opened up for agriculture. ©GettyImages-StreetFlash

Cocoa & Forests Initiative expanded

Colombia pledges deforestation-free cocoa by 2025

By Oliver Nieburg

The world’s tenth largest cocoa producer has joined the Cocoa & Forests Initiative as it looks to combat a 46% increase in tree cover loss last year.