“Fat” has long-held negative connotations. This has led to extreme health advice calling for anything from the total omission of seed oils to eating a stick of butter as a snack or adding a shot of coconut oil to one’s coffee.
Alongside this, alarmist marketing campaigns have painted certain vegetable oils, most notably palm oil, as the agent of mass extinction and deforestation.
But behind every bottle on a supermarket shelf lies a more complex story: a network of farmers, factories and policies that shape not only what we eat but also how land is used and how livelihoods are sustained.
We need to stop treating dietary fat as a villain. Yes, trans-fats are harmful, but evidence on saturated fats is mixed and context-specific. Frying risks are overlooked and fat replacers are often oversold.
Importantly, a global “fat gap” coexists with obesity – really, some people need more fat in their diet. The idea that some fats are good for you and others aren’t isn’t clear cut.
Claims about the foods we consume can become part of popular discourse. Take WWF’s 2009 claim that 50% of supermarket products contain palm oil. Is it true now? Our findings suggest at least not everywhere.
How easily could it be proved to be true then? Ever? It’s hard to tell, without clear historical evidence of how the original claim was made. But has this claim encouraged millions of consumers to avoid palm oil? Absolutely.
This is not a matter of overturning palm oil’s bad reputation, but one of noting the sheer lack of clarity and transparency in ingredient information. Many food products list only “vegetable oil” without specifying type or origin and sustainability labels are inconsistent and easily manipulated.
This lack of transparency fuels misinformation and prevents consumers from aligning purchases with their values. This fundamentally slows down any efforts from consumers and policymakers to improve sustainability within the food system.
Vegetable oils are more than ingredients. They’re woven into our culture, economies and identity. From palm oil in south-east Asia and west Africa to olive oil in the Mediterranean, their value extends beyond nutrition or environmental metrics.
In an era of rising food insecurity, affordable oils remain a vital source of nutrition and income for millions. Calls to eliminate certain oils can carry hidden social costs, undermining livelihoods in producing regions. No oil is inherently good or bad.
Rather than asking which oil is best, we should question how our oils are made, who benefits, and which systemic changes truly serve people and the planet.
Ultimately, companies need to disclose sourcing origins and processing methods, and policymakers must mandate labelling that disclose an ingredient’s true environmental and social effects. Only then consumers can know how best to choose a varied mix of traceable oils, without the hype.
Technology such as QR codes and mobile applications can already enable this and by demanding greater traceability, shoppers can help shift towards fairer and more sustainable food systems.
Serge Wich, Professor of Primate Biology, Liverpool John Moores University and Erik Meijaard, Honorary Professor of Conservation, University of Kent
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
(The Conversation/VK)
