Introduction A Supplement on Palm Oil – Why? While this Special Supplement on Palm Oil was being conceptualized and experts from different fields were being invited to contribute, the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2010) were also being finalized. As in previous versions of these Guidelines, it was anticipated that a substantial section would be devoted to the role of dietary fats and oils and their impact on human health. While the focus of the Guidelines is the health of the American population, the high-standing that American science enjoys world-wide invariably means that this document becomes a source of reference for other countries also. As such we thought it timely to put together a Supplement on palm oil. While palm oil usage in the US dwarfs in comparison to that of soyabean oil (4.6% and 69%, respectively, of total fats and oils consumed in 2009) its usage in global nutrition is dramatically different. As can be seen in Fig. 1, in 2009, of the approximately 130 million MT of vegetable oil produced, palm oil accounted for 31% of global production, while the second leading vegetable oil, soyabean oil, accounted for 28%. (Olive oil, which is frequently touted for its health benefits, accounted for ,2.3% of global production). In terms of export, palm oil was again the leading vegetable oil, accounting for 54% of global exports, with soyabean oil second, with 17% of the market. The oil palm occupies less than 5% of oil crop areas and less than 1% of agricultural land area in the world (Fig. 2) and as such the oil palm produces 113, 103 and 73 more oil per hectare than soyabean, sunflower and rapeseed, respectively (Fig. 3). Thus, oil palm has the highest oil output per unit cultivated area, which significantly diminishes the burden of additional land use that would otherwise need to be brought under oilseeds cultivation in order to meet increasing demands, primarily from increasing global population (Fig. 4). On a country-by-country basis, Indonesia, Malaysia and Argentina are the major net exporters of oils and fats, while the vast majority of countries (including the United States since the year 2006) are net importers (Fig. 5). With regards to the latter this includes China and India - with a combined population in excess of 2.4 billion (,37% of the world population). Based on recommendations by the World Health Organization for human edible oils/fat consumption, some 20–24 kg oils and fats are needed per capita on a global scale. The views expressed in each article of this supplement (including ours) are solely those of the authors and in no way reflect the opinions of their respective Institutions, the American College of Nutrition or the Malaysian Palm Oil Council. Disclosures: P.K. is on the speakers bureau for the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and the American Palm Oil Council and has previously received (1996–2005) research support from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. K.S. is also the Deputy CEO of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council Fig. 1. Global vegetable oil production in 2009 (percentage). Fig. 2. Global harvested areas of oil crops in the world (millions of hectares). Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 29, No. 3, 237S–239S (2010) Published by the American College of Nutrition 237S