Oil palm trees in a plantation in Malaysia. Oil palms are grown commercially to produce palm oil, which is used around the world as cooking oil and as an ingredient in many processed foods. Palm oil is also used as a biofuel, which has recently caused an increase in demand. However, there are social and environmental issues surrounding oil palm production, since the plantations often compete with native agriculture or rainforest, and palm oil grown for fuel takes up acreage that might otherwise