France proposes Nutella boycott for the eco-conscious

You shouldn't eat Nutella because it's palm oil which is replacing trees.- French ecology minister, Ségolène Royal

French ecology minister, Ségolène Royal, is urging her fellow citizens to cut Nutella out of their diets...and not because the popular chocolate-hazelnut spread is high in calories, or sugar. 

But because it's made with palm oil. There are grave concerns about the production of palm oil today -- and its contributions to deforestation and climate change.

Now, more than a quarter of all the Nutella produced in the world is consumed by the French. So a boycott there, could make a big difference. But within days of that statement, Madame Royale had changed her tune and apologized for her comments.
 

Ferrero, the maker of Nutella products is actually a pretty good company when it comes to palm oil production. They made some really good commitments in terms of moving their suppliers of palm oil to responsible sources.- Richard Brooks, the Forest Campaign Coordinator with Greenpeace Canada 

The entire affair has instead brought to light how many companies are not following its lead on sustainable sourcing. Because more than half of all products on supermarket shelves contain palm oil.    

And with the banning of trans fats in the U.S., demand is only expected to grow.

Doug Boucher is the director of Climate Research and Analysis at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington.

Danielle Morley is a spokesperson for The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.  She was in London, England.
 

This segment was produced by The Current's Leif Zapf-Gilje and Daisy Xiong.