The UK supermarket Iceland has announced that it will stop using palm oil in its own branded products by the end of this year, saying it hopes that could help protect the environment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/39492

What is palm oil?

Palm oil is made from the fruits of trees called African oil palms.

The trees originally came from west and south-west Africa, but they were introduced to Indonesia and Malaysia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They grow naturally in tropical rainforest areas, but they also are being planted and farmed especially to produce more palm oil.

Why is palm oil seen as a good thing?

Some people say palm oil is the best type of vegetable oil to produce. Palm oil is in close to half of the products we buy in the supermarkets - in everything from shampoos and soaps, to pizzas and biscuits. It's everywhere.

Why is palm oil seen as a bad thing?

Environmentalists argue that this farming of oil palm trees is extremely bad for the planet.

Deforestation is when forests and trees are cut down to clear the land to use it for something else

Palm oil production is said to have been responsible for about 8% of the world's deforestation between 1990 and 2008.

This is because forests are burned to clear areas where people can grow oil palms - even if it's illegal.

Burning forests like this destroys the places where plants and wildlife live, meaning the area has less biodiversity.

Species like orangutans, rhinos, elephants and tigers can be affected.