Palm Oil: A Tricky Treat

October 19, 2023

By: Lizze Ferrari, Sustainability & Behavior Change Manager

This Halloween, choose candy that's sweeter for the environment by going palm-oil free or only buying candy that is made with certified sustainable palm oil! Read on for a list of treats produced by companies that belong to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil or download the Palm Oil Scan Mobile App, overseen by our friends at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Why Is Palm Oil Scary For the Environment? Palm oil is a vegetable oil derived from the oil palm tree. Due to its low cost and high productivity, it has become one of the most versatile and widely used vegetable oils globally, finding its way into a variety of products, including food items, cosmetics, and biofuels. In fact, palm oil can be found in half of all supermarket products!

Unfortunately, palm oil production can be harmful to wildlife. Large-scale palm oil plantations have been associated with rainforest destruction and biodiversity loss. This rainforest is critical habitat for some of the world’s most endangered animals, including tigers, orangutans, and the Sumatran rhino.

Be a hero for wildlife this Halloween and make sustainably sweet choices!

The following list of candies was curated by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and features treats produced by companies that belong to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil: 

 Chocolates: 

• Dove chocolate 
• M&Ms 
• Milky Way 
• Snickers 
• Twix 

Taffy: 

• Laffy Taffy 
• Now and Later 
• Starburst 

Other: 

• Brachs 
• Everlasting Gobstoppers 
• Fun Dip 
• Lemonhead 
• Life Savers 
• Nerds 
• Pixy Stix 
• Skittles 
• Spree 
• SweetTarts 
• Trolli 

Use this "trick" all year and scan your treats using the PalmOil Scan app on your next grocery store run to identify household items made with certified sustainable palm oil.  

Click here to download Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Orangutan-Friendly Halloween Candy Guide