| 英文摘要: | Health impacts have been excluded from assessments of palm oil production but they could alter governments' view of the industry. Palm oil has brought Malaysia a great deal of prosperity. In 2011, the industry was the fourth largest contributor to the country's economy, accounting for RM53 billion (US$16.8 billion) of Malaysia's gross national income. Palm oil creates hundreds of thousands of jobs and is responsible for 61.8% of export value (www.palmoilworld.org/sustainability.html). Malaysia itself is a major consumer. But does this oil, rich in saturated fats, cause disease in the population? Nobody knows. For one thing, the financial costs of saturated fat consumption on health services have always been disconnected from palm oil production, both in Malaysia and nearby palm oil producing countries Indonesia and Thailand. For another, the precise effect of palm oil on health is unknown. But the consumption of palm oil may play a role in cardiovascular illness in those countries. It is, of course, a concern already noted down the supply chain in major consumer markets such as France, where agribusinesses and politicians have hit out at the soaring palm oil industry. In 2012, for example, a member of the French Senate attempted unsuccessfully to levy a tax on foods containing palm oil. However, a new rear-guard action aimed at palm oil could come not from politicians concerned about voters, but from doctors concerned about producers. At least, that might be a long-term outcome of new investigations financed by the charitable health foundation the Wellcome Trust on the combined impact of palm oil on the economy, health, land use and emissions of Thailand. Bhavani Shankar, professor of international food, agriculture and health at the School of Oriental and African Studies Centre for Development, Environment and Policy, University of London, points out that health has been excluded from economic assessments.
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Elisabeth Jeffries is a journalist based in London, UK
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