We don’t really notice fats and oils much in our lives, but our daily routines are full of them: everything from soap to cereal, butter to petrol and perhaps even the ground you walk on contains fats and oils. Edible fats and oil are a large and growing global market and critical to certain economies. In Indonesia and Malaysia, which produce around 80% of the world’s palm oil, a total of 4.5 million people earn their living from palm oil. Asia-Pacific is a consumption hotspot, consuming more than 30% of the global market share of edible fats and oils by 2018. This is due to its growing population, plus a rise in both disposable income and rapid urbanisation contributing to changing diets. In their edible form, fats and oils are essential for health and wellbeing, supporting cell growth, organ function, nerve nourishment and cardiovascular health. Fats also provide energy and help us absorb many other nutrients. executive summary Oil all around us