146
Food security is a multidimensional concept, so effects such as those discussed
above are not only difficult to be delineated at the local level but must be understood
with respect to the national and international context. In Indonesia, the increased
export demand for palm oil (Sect. 10.1) has possibly increased risks to palm oil
shortages for Indonesian consumers. While palm oil prices can vary within year(s),
they increased considerably in two very discrete spikes in the late 2007 (from USD
540/ton in early 2007 to USD 1440/ton in mid-2008) and mid-2010. This was possibly driven by demand for biofuel feedstock that also drove up the prices for sugar,
grains, and vegetable oils (including palm oil), hence increasing households’ living
expenditures (OECD 2008) (Sect. 10.1). Such concerns have in several occasions
prompted the Indonesia government to impose export taxes on palm oil, as a way to
secure sufficient supply for domestic users. For example, in January 2011, the
Indonesian Trade Ministry announced an increase of the tax to 25 percent to a large
extent to avoid escalating food prices (Bouët and Laborde Debucquet 2016). While
subsistence farmers may not be directly affected by changes in international commodity prices, poor people in food-deficit developing nations are considered as particularly vulnerable considering that they use a very large fraction of their income
on food (e.g., Runge and Senauer 2008).
10.2.4.4 Health
Gasparatos et al. (2011) report several cases around the world where individual and
public health have been compromised due to biofuel expansion. Health threats can
be due to labor conditions in plantations (e.g., due to strenuous work), agricultural
practices employed (e.g., use of agrochemicals, land clearing through fire), and malnutrition as a result of rising food prices. Several publications have reviewed the
health hazards of working and living in the vicinity of oil palm plantations (e.g., Ng
et al. 2014; UNICEF 2016). Regarding malnutrition, while there is evidence to suggest lower malnutrition levels in villages involved in oil palm activities (e.g.,
Budidarsono et al. 2012; Euler et al. 2017), there have been recorded instances in
Indonesia of mothers in poor families lowering their food intake in order to feed
their children when food prices rose (partly due to biofuels), (Actionaid 2010).
Furthermore the air pollution health effects that have resulted from forest fires, to an
extent for land clearing for oil palm expansion, in Indonesia, have been thoroughly
documented in the academic literature (Frankenberg et al. 2005).
10.2.4.5 Land Tenure, Displacement, and Social Conflicts
Land tenure conflicts related to oil palm expansion have been a much-debated topic
(e.g., Nesadurai 2013; Dhiaulhaq et al. 2014). In Indonesia, land conflict related to
oil palm plantations is a much-debated topic, with some authors reporting the concentration of land to powerful actors and the loss of land rights through coercion/
R. Moreno-Peñaranda et al.
Food security is a multidimensional concept, so effects such as those discussed
above are not only difficult to be delineated at the local level but must be understood
with respect to the national and international context. In Indonesia, the increased
export demand for palm oil (Sect. 10.1) has possibly increased risks to palm oil
shortages for Indonesian consumers. While palm oil prices can vary within year(s),
they increased considerably in two very discrete spikes in the late 2007 (from USD
540/ton in early 2007 to USD 1440/ton in mid-2008) and mid-2010. This was possibly driven by demand for biofuel feedstock that also drove up the prices for sugar,
grains, and vegetable oils (including palm oil), hence increasing households’ living
expenditures (OECD 2008) (Sect. 10.1). Such concerns have in several occasions
prompted the Indonesia government to impose export taxes on palm oil, as a way to
secure sufficient supply for domestic users. For example, in January 2011, the
Indonesian Trade Ministry announced an increase of the tax to 25 percent to a large
extent to avoid escalating food prices (Bouët and Laborde Debucquet 2016). While
subsistence farmers may not be directly affected by changes in international commodity prices, poor people in food-deficit developing nations are considered as particularly vulnerable considering that they use a very large fraction of their income
on food (e.g., Runge and Senauer 2008).
10.2.4.4 Health
Gasparatos et al. (2011) report several cases around the world where individual and
public health have been compromised due to biofuel expansion. Health threats can
be due to labor conditions in plantations (e.g., due to strenuous work), agricultural
practices employed (e.g., use of agrochemicals, land clearing through fire), and malnutrition as a result of rising food prices. Several publications have reviewed the
health hazards of working and living in the vicinity of oil palm plantations (e.g., Ng
et al. 2014; UNICEF 2016). Regarding malnutrition, while there is evidence to suggest lower malnutrition levels in villages involved in oil palm activities (e.g.,
Budidarsono et al. 2012; Euler et al. 2017), there have been recorded instances in
Indonesia of mothers in poor families lowering their food intake in order to feed
their children when food prices rose (partly due to biofuels), (Actionaid 2010).
Furthermore the air pollution health effects that have resulted from forest fires, to an
extent for land clearing for oil palm expansion, in Indonesia, have been thoroughly
documented in the academic literature (Frankenberg et al. 2005).
10.2.4.5 Land Tenure, Displacement, and Social Conflicts
Land tenure conflicts related to oil palm expansion have been a much-debated topic
(e.g., Nesadurai 2013; Dhiaulhaq et al. 2014). In Indonesia, land conflict related to
oil palm plantations is a much-debated topic, with some authors reporting the concentration of land to powerful actors and the loss of land rights through coercion/
R. Moreno-Peñaranda et al.