French ecology minister Ségolène Royal called on consumers to stop eating Nutella this week because the cultivation of palm oil, a key ingredient, contributes to deforestation.
“We have to replant a lot of trees because there is massive deforestation that also leads to global warming,” she told French television network Canal+, according to Agence France-Presse. “We should stop eating Nutella, for example, because it’s made with palm oil.”
Producing palm oil requires turning tropical forest land into plantations. Research shows that these plantations harm biodiversity and increase carbon emissions. In Malaysia, for instance, research has shown that the creation of these plantation has led to a 12% decrease in biodiversity.
Ferrero, the manufacturer of Nutella, said it is playing a leading role in “the sustainable transformation of the palm oil sector.”
“Our target is to ensure our consumer that the palm oil we use in our products achieves our ‘No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation’ commitments,” the company said.
Read next: Parents Can’t Name Their Child ‘Nutella,’ French Court Says
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