KUALA LUMPUR: The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent bulletin is peppered with errors, omissions, assumptions and totally biased, according to theoilpalm.org latest posting.
On January 8, 2019, a study published by the WHO claimed the palm oil industry was deploying tactics similar to those of the alcohol and tobacco industries to influence nutrition research.
The portal said the study titled “The palm oil industry and non-communicable diseases” had dishonestly claimed the relationship between the palm oil and processed food industries, and the tactics they employed resemble practices adopted by the tobacco and alcohol industries.
"Here is an article from the WHO that regurgitates the talking points of palm oil critics, while ignoring voluminous scientific evidence that highlights the benefits of palm oil.
"The lack of self-awareness is painful. This calls into question the institution, and its role as the global standard-bearer for public health," it said.
theoilpalm.org claimed the authors of the WHO Bulletin, namely Sowmya Kadandale (UNICEF), Robert Marten (the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) and Richard Smith (College of Medicine and Health – University of Exeter) were leading a crusade funded by Wellcome to impose a colonial will on palm oil producing countries.
“Oil palm cultivation has lifted millions out of poverty, provided an income for small farmers and rural communities, and helped Africans, Asians and others build better, healthier lives for themselves and their children.
"Is the WHO saying this is a bad thing?" theoilpalm.org questioned and reminded the global health autority to take a leaf from the World Bank that poverty is one of the most significant drivers of poor health.
Time and again, economists at the World Bank had reiterated that poverty is a major cause of ill health and a barrier to accessing health care.
Oil palm cultivation and the supply of palm cooking oil has a benefited both producers and many consumers of the developing world – the producers (small farmers in Malaysia or Indonesia) receive income which helps improve their health, and the consumers (often poorer people in India or Africa) receive key nutrients including Vitamin E tocotrienols and tocopherols, which also improves their health.
theoilpalm.org noted that the WHO had illogically criticised palm oil in the context of trans fats. The fact is palm oil naturally has zero trans fats, but can fulfil the same function in food preparation.
"Are the WHO authors claiming they would prefer lower health outcomes, or a reintroduction of trans fats?" questioned theoilpalm.org, adding it was irresponsible for the authors of the WHO Bulletin to compare palm oil, which is a kitchen staple for billions of people around the world, to that of alcohol and tobacco,” it said.