Substitutes For

Coconut Oil

Letter to the Editor IREAD with interest the leading article in the February P.I.M., “Copra and the Unilever Combine.”

Copra to-day, in Samoa, is cut at about one quarter of the cost of previous years —without profit to the grower, and almost slavery for the labourer. The coconut palm will endure; but I have doubts as to the cutting of copra at the present ab surdly low value.

Modern oil-purifying, separating, hard ening and deodorizing processes now en able the manufacturing consumer to dis regard coconut oil in favour of any cheaper oil products offering in competition with coconut oil. The industrial chemist of Japan, and elsewhere, now removes the rank odor of the fish oils (clupanodonic acid) and “squeezes” other fish than whales into the oil service—even to finding its way into foods, soaps, etc.

Japan is not alone in using “rape seed oil,” in thousands of tons, where once the excellent oil of the coconut was used.

America is using more and more of mazola oil (from maize). One report states that 80,000,000 bushels of maize was pro cessed in the U.S.A. during the past year, yielding oil for butter substitutes and lard, and for “glucose, and synthetic rubber for the red eraser tips of our pencils, besides the starch and other products of maize.”

What is most astounding to-day, is the growth of the peanut industry. The Afri can ground-nut (peanut) last year sup plied some 40,000,000 gallons of oil (and the by-product is not to be despised either).

Now that the stearin can be separated from so many of the soft oils and the residue “hardened,” honest coconut oil will probably have to stand by in open com petition with other “C.H.O.” products.

Apparently, we must grow peanuts, or go fishing. We cannot keep all our eggs in one basket.

I am, etc.,

Charles Reed.

Apia, Samoa, 28/3/1934.