You’ve probably heard of it, and you’ve almost certainly consumed it. Today, we’re talking palm oil and we’re diving right into the greasy truth: Palm oil is bad for the planet, bad for our wildlife and it's not great for our health either. As the most widely consumed vegetable oil in the world, it has found its way into almost every product on the supermarket shelf—except LittleOak, of course. 

What is the environmental impact of palm oil?

Palm oil comes from oil palm trees grown exclusively in the tropics. It’s a highly versatile oil, producing huge quantities from small areas of land almost year-round. And because it's such an efficient, versatile crop, it's used in countless products ranging all the way from instant noodles to lipstick. Oil palm plantations now cover over 27 million hectares worldwide, an area approximately the size of New Zealand. In fact, according to the WWF, palm oil plantations are expanding quicker than almost any other agricultural commodity.

The global production and demand of palm oil is taking a significant toll not only on our planet, but on workers in these regions who face ongoing exploitation. Palm oil continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most beautiful and biodiverse rainforests, further endangering species like the Oragutan, Borneo elephant and Sumatran tiger who are moving closer and closer to extinction. From habitat loss to soil, water and land erosion, palm oil production is causing large scale devastation to our planet and the animals living in it. This just breaks our hearts.

Palm oil and your baby's nutrition

We're incredibly proud to be the first formula in the world to be certified 100% palm oil free by the Palm Oil Free Certification Accreditation Programme (POFCAP). 

Why? Our dedication to nurturing little ones extends to the world they will grow into. We believe it's our responsibility to care for the planet they will inherit, which is why we will never ever use palm oil in our products.

But palm oil doesn't just harm the planet—it can affect your baby’s growth too. Palm oil blocks the absorption of calcium, fat and DHA in babies and toddlers, which are all essential building blocks for strong growth and development. Yet despite this, many standard brands on the market use it to imitate the fatty acid profile of breastmilk. At LittleOak, we’ll never cut corners and we’ll never cut costs. Instead of using highly-processed, mass-produced oils like palm or canola, we use cold pressed flaxseed and coconut oils to deliver the majority of our fatty acids. Importantly, all our oils are pressed and we refuse to use any chemicals or solvents to extract the oil from the plant husk.

Our commitment 

We want our children to grow up in a thriving world, full of nature. We want them to climb trees, to pick flowers, to splash in puddles, to swim in a clean ocean...we want them to grow up with nature all around them. And as a global company, we will continue to do what we can to safeguard the planet for generations to come.

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LittleOak has been nourishing children for many years and feeds millions of infants, babies and children across the globe each and every day, in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. In the US, we're proud to have our FDA compliant Toddler Milk available for families.