Greenpeace Says Boycotting Nutella Is Not The Answer

Though Ségolène Royal, the French Minister of Ecology, publicly renounced Nutella yesterday because it contains palm oil, giant environmental agency Greenpeace disagrees.

According to Quartz, Greenpeace does not support a boycott of palm oil because "a blanket boycott of this agricultural crop will not solve problems in its production." Ferrero, the Italian manufacturer of Nutella, supports the Palm Oil Innovation Group, which is endorsed by Greenpeace.

Palm oil is controversial because forests need to be cleared to create plantations, and its production has been linked to global warning. But Ferrero is only a fraction of the palm oil problem. The Palm Oil Innovation Group is dedicated to finding sustainable ways to produce palm oil. As Greenpeace representatives told Quartz, they "therefore consider Ferrero to be one of the more progressive consumer-facing companies with regards to palm oil sourcing."

Ferrero reported on their website in February that they only use palm oil that is approved as sustainable by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Ferrero has been a member of RSPO since 2005 and even has their own Ferrero Palm Oil Charter.