Kuala Lampur, Nov. 4 -- At the 2026 Oils and Fats International Conference (OFIC), a paper laid bare a question that has long perplexed the industry: why does palm oil-the most land-efficient oil crop in the world-remain saddled with a negative label in Western public discourse?

The evidence says only about 2 per cent of global deforestation can be attributed to oil palm expansion. Yet almost no one talks about the other 98 per cent. When wildfires break out in the West, the default narrative is "climate change" and "global warming"; when fires and haze occur in Southeast Asia, fingers point squarely at palm oil companies.

According to research published in Europe PMC, forest conversion driven by oil palm expansion declined sharply afte...