Palm oil, coconut and soybean drive more species extinction than previously thought

https://phys.org/news/2026-06-palm-oil-coconut-soybean-species.html

The study examined 19 oil crops. "Three of which caused a particularly large share of the impacts: oil palm, soybean and coconut," says Shuntian Wang, a doctoral student on Pfister's team. Together, they account for some 75% of the biodiversity loss caused by oil crops.

At the same time, the study highlights a clear development: Between 1995 and 2020, biodiversity loss rose by around 80%. But this is not primarily caused by global population growth.

42 points · 3 comments · view on lemmy.world

3 Comments

ShotDonkey@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 75d

Palm oil, even though plant based, must be considered equally harmful as meat, eggs and dairy from a vegan standpoint.

WaxRhetorical@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 75d

Ugh, is coconut oil also terrible for the local environment then, like palm oil? What a shame.

Cartilogen@mander.xyz · 2 pts · 75d

Palms are usually hard and slow to grow due to how fast the soil nutrients get depleted by them, they also alter the soil a lot. I can't read the article but I guess the reason has something to do with it.

jerebear39@slrpnk.net · 0 pts · 75d
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