They have a reputation for being “pure and natural," but many essential oils are derived from fossil fuels—and there's almost no way to tell which ones.
Never even heard of essential oils before. Thank you for the enlightening article which depressingly shows how fossil fuels are attached to seemingly everything in some way.
Combustion of fossil fuels is by far the worst use of them vis-a-vis heating the planet, and I suspect using them to make plastic is the next worst use for the environment, so while I learned something from this piece, I find it a bit of a distraction from the most pressing harms associated with petroleum.
Speaking of food for thought, though, what about the fact that hexane is used to extract vegetable oils that we consume in far larger quantities than these food additives! I believe all but the “cold-pressed” oils are processed with hexane? here’s just one item that comes up when I search https://ecolink.com/info/why-is-hexane-used-for-extraction/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-fmZBhDtARIsAH6H8qgrSyVT6HE_yghwQEQMtdY9ZlmJa0Z-bd3yj2davAmxYkfAkvFCd1caAkVfEALw_wcB
Never even heard of essential oils before. Thank you for the enlightening article which depressingly shows how fossil fuels are attached to seemingly everything in some way.
Gah! This is so frustrating. I’m shocked, but not surprised. Fossil fuels are so pervasive, it feels like they’ve wormed their way into everything.
Super interesting - get ‘em!
I honestly never gave much thought to the topic of essential oils, but this is on my radar now. Good food for thought.
Combustion of fossil fuels is by far the worst use of them vis-a-vis heating the planet, and I suspect using them to make plastic is the next worst use for the environment, so while I learned something from this piece, I find it a bit of a distraction from the most pressing harms associated with petroleum.