However, in terms of saturated fats, the link between them and heart disease has been greatly misattributed and blown out of proportion. The original studies on which this notion was based are known to be flawed, but the “results” from them are still touted as gospel.

Transfats — which are generally man-made and do not really occur much in nature — ARE very bad for us. But naturally-occurring fats, including saturated fats, are quite necessary for our health and physiological functioning.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080518201019AAC7GC9
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9635993?dopt=Abstract

Also read “Nourishing Traditions”.

If that weren’t bad enough, the rising demand for palm oil has brought about the clearing of huge tracts of Southeast Asian rainforest, widespread deforestation, violation of human rights of indigenous people, as well as, bringing to the brink of extinction many animal and plant species. The space for these expanding palm plantations is created by clearing trees, draining and burning peatland which releases huge amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere.

Destroying such forests results in massive amounts of greenhouse gases which, scientists believe, are directly responsible for the global warming crisis facing the planet today. These huge emissions have made Indonesia the world’s third-leading producer of carbon emissions, ranked only after the United States and China.

In order to cultivate palm oil, old growth forests are being clear-cut on a truly horrific scale and converted into industrial-sized plantations. Millions of acres of pristine rainforest in Indonesia and Malaysia have already been completely annihilated, along with every living creature in them.

One of the biggest victims of the palm oil industry is the critically endangered orangutan. The forests of Borneo and Sumatra are the only place where these gentle, intelligent creatures live, and the cultivation of palm oil has directly led to the brutal deaths of thousands of individuals as the industry has expanded in recent years. When the forest is cleared these peaceful, defenseless beings are often beaten, burned, mutilated, tortured and eaten. Babies are torn off their dying mothers so they can be sold on the black market as illegal pets as well as leaving hundreds of orphans to be cared for by non-profit rescue organizations. Imagine, this closest evolutionary cousin of ours may have less than ten years left in the wild before they become totally extinct!

No tiny amount of palm oil is worth all that!

Read more about the palm oil crisis at http://redapes.org/learn-about-the-palm-oil-threat/