Are Your Ramen Noodles Contributing To Deforestation?

Instant ramen is one of the most instantly recognizable microwavable foods worldwide, but your cup of noodles could be doing a boatload of harm to the environment.Nissin Foods Holdings and Toyo Suisan Kaisha (Maruchan), two of the largest instant ramen noodle producers globally, have allegedly failed to adopt responsible palm oil policies, unlike fast food companies like McDonald's and Pizza Hut.

Palm oil is one of the most common ingredients in processed foods, although it is also considered one of the most unsustainable oils in the food industry. Palm oil is a driver of deforestation, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists; as demand for the oil skyrockets, thousands of acres of tropical rainforests in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia are cleared to make room for plantations.

More than 50,000 people have signed a petition on Sum of Us demanding that both  Nissin Foods Holdings and Toyo Suisan Kaisha cut controversial "conflict palm oil" from their ingredient roster, starting now.