Palm Sunday and Palm Oil

REFLECT

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!""Blessed is the king of Israel!"

John 12:12-13

While the palms used in the gospel to welcome Jesus did not come from oil palm trees, this Palm Sunday we reflect on how conventional palm oil is hiding in many of the packaged foods we eat (around 50% of supermarket foods) and can be a driver of deforestation and human rights abuses.

ACT

We pray for all of the people, animals, and ecosystems affected by conventional palm oil plantations.

Learn about the issues with palm oil and which foods and common household items contain palm oil. Try to fast from products that do not use Certified Sustainable Palm Oil.

To learn more, watch this 12- minute report: Assignment Asia: Indonesia palm oil plantations

Lenten Daily Food Reflections

pause | reflect | act

Editor's note: These daily reflections on food, faith, climate and our lives will provide spiritual sustenance for the Lenten journey. They are inspired by the Lenten Food Waste Fast at the Ignatian Solidarity Network. ​