Palm oil politics

We look at what China’s latest “Two Sessions” reveal about the direction of the world’s second-largest economy. With Beijing setting its lowest GDP growth target since 1991, the focus appears to be shifting from rapid expansion to stability in an increasingly uncertain global eco ...  Show more

We meet the founder of one of India’s largest private aviation companies who overcame several life challenges before starting the business. After doctors initially told her she had months to live, Indian entrepreneur Kanika Tekriwal went on to build JetSetGo, one of the country’s ...  Show more

Palm oil is found in everything from chocolate to shampoo, pizza, toothpaste and deodorant. It’s hugely popular with food and cosmetics companies because it’s odourless, tasteless and colourless, and does not alter the smell, taste or look of products. But palm oil — 85% of which ...  Show more

Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of palm oil, a product found in everything from shampoo to soup; in the last two decades vast areas of forests have been cleared to make way for plantations. The remote province of Papua, home to Asia’s largest remaining rainforests has e ...  Show more

There's a biodiesel boom happening! It's fueled by incentives and policies intended to cut greenhouse emissions, and is motivating some oil companies like World Energy in Paramount, California to convert their refineries to process soybean oil instead of crude. NPR's food and agr ...  Show more

Europe has been swept by a wave of protests by farmers, many of whom blame environmental policies for increasing their hardship. In Germany, farmers are angry about the phasing out of tax breaks on agricultural diesel. A policy aimed at reducing pesticide use was one of many grie ...  Show more