Puerto Rican researchers find Latin American oil palm expansion mostly on pastureland

In Puerto Rico, researchers from the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras say in a new study that most palm oil plantations under development in Latin America are on former pasturelands. The study looked at NASA satellite images for 10 Latina American countries. The region’s palm oil acreage under production has doubled since 2001. They say the industry has taken its cues from palm oil development in Asia that has come under scrutiny for negative environmental practices.