Buying chocolate eggs without palm oil could help support Irish dairy farmers, according to an organisation that works with farmers, processors and buyers to promote economic sustainability for farmers.
Diarmaid Mac Colgáin is one of the founders of Concept Dairy, and is former head of trading at Ornua Co-Operative Limited, (formerly the Irish Dairy Board).
Mr Mac Colgáin says that since the EU milk quotas were lifted in 2015, milk volumes have been booming. But, he says, the boost in volume hasn’t always resulted in a boost in prices for the farmers, and at the same time, “processors have been forced to become more like commodity traders, deviating away from their core strengths.”
His organisation is urging Irish consumers to help Irish dairy farmers this Easter through buying Easter eggs and bunnies that do not include palm oil through a series of viral videos. Palm oil, he explains, is about one quarter of the price of buying cream from farmers.
Mr Mac Colgáin explains that manufacturers put palm oil into products because it is a lot less expensive than the cream from milk. Palm oil is seen as one of the most versatile and cheapest vegetable oils, and is used in various Cadbury’s confectionery, including milk buttons. Palm oil is found in almost half of all packaged products sold in supermarkets.
However, many supermarkets own brand Easter eggs and bunnies do not include palm oil, as well as pricier options, like Lindt and Thornton’s offerings.
“When you are making choices, buying Easter bunnies for your kids, try to pick the ones without palm oil,” he says. “Every three days, four dairy farmers go bust. If you want to help those dairy farmers, make good choices by buying Easter bunnies that don’t have palm oil in them. We’re creating awareness of the unfairness within the dairy supply chain.”
“Why does this matter? Palm oil replaces dairy, and our dairy farmers lose out.”
He has urged consumers to check the packaging of the eggs in the shops this Easter, and to look out for products that have not substituted cream from milk with palm oil.
“When you buy chocolate and Easter eggs, take a look at the ingredients. You might be surprised to see that a lot of the dairy we expect to get in chocolate has been replaced with palm oil. This means dairy farmers are losing out.”
He says that while chocolate is normally made with cream, cocoa powder and sugar, chocolate manufacturers often take the milk out, replacing it with skimmed milk powder and palm oil.
“This is what you are normally getting in your Galaxy chocolate, your Dairy Milk chocolate, lots of the brands that are trying to save money by using palm oil instead of cream. They import palm oil from halfway around the world to replace the cream from farmers. They are changing the recipe by putting palm oil in and taking dairy cream out of the chocolate.
“This means that the farmer isn’t getting the full value of their milk, which is being substituted with palm oil – and that’s why farmers aren’t being paid fairly on the chocolate side. Milk prices are dropping below the cost of production – 80 per cent of farmers are struggling with their mental health. In the UK, three dairy farmers a week are quitting. We need to make a change.”
The use of palm oil in Easter eggs has previously been a source of contention, and also linked to concerns about deforestation and sustainability. Brands like Cadbury have faced criticism for their palm oil sourcing practices. Back in 2019, the chocolate company’s founder’s great grandson called on Cadbury to end their “irresponsible” use of palm oil.
“The whole principle of Cadbury’s was that it was built on making a good product while being fair and ethical to people and communities,” Bruce Cadbury said.
“But palm oil is bringing the animal kingdom, particularly orangutans, to the edge of extinction. It is massively impacting the local communities that live around the land it is being produced on. And it is destroying the rainforest because it is being produced in the most unsustainable way that is contributing to the growingly dirty, poisoned planet that we live on. It is all bad and should stop.”
Fairtrade products have long been advertised as helping cocoa farmers earn a fairer wage for their work, and a breakdown from Fair Trade lists some of the eggs which meet the mark.
These include Aldi’s Infusionist Coffee & Caramel Egg-Fusion Martini Duo, the Co-op’s Gro Salted Toffee Crunch Egg, Co-op Irresistible Marbled Millionaires Chocolate Egg, Guylian Milk Chocolate Egg, and Lidl’s Deluxe Orange Chocolate Marbled Egg. Consumers can check if a product displays the ‘fair trade’ label.
“When you buy real products made with real chocolate, you’re helping dairy farmers,” Mr Mac Colgáin said. “When you’re buying big name brand Easter eggs, they’re often not paying the farmers fairly for the milk they produce. Think twice – if you don’t buy it, they won’t make it.”
Concept Dairy have highlighted some other products which do not include palm oil – including Asda’s Milk chocolate patch Easter bunny, Asda’s hollow chocolate Easter bunny, Thorntons easter eggs, Aldi’s double indulgence egg, Toblerone’s Edgy egg, Tesco’s chocolate bunny, Cadbury’s white chocolate buttons easter egg, Marks and Spencer’s and Tesco brand mini eggs, and Lindt’s chocolate bunny and Lindt’s mini eggs.
Many products without palm oil are the same price, if not cheaper, than those with palm oil. Consumers are losing out too this Easter, according to Which? with an investigation which found last month that Easter eggs have become up to 50 per cent more expensive than last year while shrinking in size. The survey from the British consumer watchdog claimed that the price of chocolate has risen by 16.5 per cent in a year, while a fall in global cocoa production has pushed wholesale costs to record highs. Higher input costs and poor harvests in west Africa – where the majority of the world’s cocoa is produced are said to have contributed to the jump in the cost of chocolate.