Biscuits! NAS consumes A LOT of biscuits every year. So making sure we only supply environmentally-friendly ones seems like a good idea. Read more about how and why our Education Manager Peta Knott is leading us down this palm oil free path.

As part of my recent Carbon Literacy training, I had to make a pledge on behalf of the NAS to reduce our carbon footprint. A common assumption is that reducing our carbon consumption is all about minimising fuel consumption and being good recyclers. But a fact that jumped out at me during the online training, was the effects of palm oil on our carbon footprint.

I didn’t realise the detrimental effect that the palm-oil industry has on our environment, and also on native cultures in marginalised areas. Palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet as it is the most efficient to produce. Its natural habitat is tropical rainforests but the large scale clearing of these areas to turn them into more productive plantations is devasting to both the local biodiversity and the native human inhabitants.

However, trying to cut all palm oil out of your life is counter productive as there are many organisations and companies that are growing sustainable palm oil that also provides employment opportunities for local populations.

It’s also probably impossible to boycott all products with palm oil in them as it is so prevalent in our day-to-day products. It’s key features that make it so useful are that it doesn’t melt at room temperature, and it makes products smooth and creamy. Which is why you can find it in all sorts of products: from pizza and ice-cream to shampoo and detergent as well as bio-fuels and biscuits.

Biscuits! NAS consumes A LOT of biscuits every year. Not only do we have a variety of biscuit options at all our courses, we also make sure our office is kept well supplied for regular staff and any visitors that might pop in!

And that is why I made my pledge for NAS to only consume palm oil free or sustainable palm oil biscuits from henceforth!

But what are these palm oil free or sustainable palm oil biscuits? Let the research commence!

Image: A range of palm oil free biscuits. Please note: many biscuits were consumed during the research process!

I am very fortunate to have seven different supermarkets within walking distance of my home office (no carbon footprint caused by driving on this research trip!). I did a comprehensive survey of all these establishments and came home with an impressive collection of biscuits and a newly gained understanding of palm-oil in the biscuit realm

Here are some general trends that I noticed during my rigorous research:

Image: A range of biscuit brands purchased for this research

European brands are often palm oil free

The fancier (and more expensive) the biscuit, the more likely it is to be palm oil free

Image: the fancier biscuits

Shortbread (not short cakes) are pretty much always palm oil free

Image: Shortbread biscuits are an environmental winner

Butter biscuits with a chocolate slab on top are usually palm oil free.
Image: Biscuit and chocolate - double winner!

And one of these types of biscuits even has a ship image – which makes it doubly important to have at NAS events!

Image: palm oil free ship biscuits!

There are some popular brands that are palm oil free such as Jammie-Dodgers and Maryland choc-chip cookies. Wagon wheels contain sustainable palm oil.

Image: popular brands and readily accessible palm oil free biscuits

Jammie Dodgers and Marylands are available in most supermarkets and can also often be found at small corner shops or petrol stations, which is handy when you’re on your way to run a NAS course and realise you don’t have enough biscuits for the students!!

Biscoff is a very popular biscuit and seems to have branched out into spreads and cakes and even ice-creams. Therefore, it is nice to know that it is palm oil free and vegan - so this one ticks a lot of specialist boxes. Unfortunately, the trade-off is that Biscoff tend to have a lot of soft plastic packaging.

Image: Biscoff is a double-edged sword when it comes to carbon consumption

With this new-found knowledge about palm oil, perhaps you will join my pledge to only consume these carbon friendly sweet treats. And I hope this will inspire you to read the ingredients of your biscuits and many other products that might contain palm oil. Your shopping trip might take a bit longer, but your planet will thank you.

To learn how to reduce your carbon footprint in the maritime heritage sector and to gain a nationally recognised certification from the Carbon Literacy Project, sign up to one of our Carbon Literacy courses. It’s written and subsidised by Historic England - so it’s only £10! There are five date options to chose from between now and March 2025. 

https://www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org/carbon-literacy-for-the-maritime-heritage-sector

A quick reference website about palm oil is here -

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil

Ocado allows you to shop palm oil free here -

https://www.ocado.com/browse/dietary-lifestyle-world-foods-30489/free-from-46010/palm-oil-free-230097?srsltid=AfmBOoqCPuBzr5Nr85cAMB8R6CQI2g7bZHG4pLEWwNq6JgU2t9MMEbMd