Kellogg to Stop Buying Deforested Palm Oil Amid Pressure

Kellogg Co. has agreed to buy palm oil only from suppliers who can prove they don’t damage rain forests, the strongest move yet by a public food manufacturer to stop the practice, according an environmental group that pressured the maker of Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies.

Starting in 2016, palm oil -- a vegetable oil used to cook Pop-Tarts to Pringles -- will be sourced through supply chains that are deemed “environmentally appropriate,” states a new policy posted on the Battle Creek, Michigan-based company’s website. Suppliers must trace the oil to plantations that are independently verified as legally compliant, Kellogg’s Chief Sustainability Officer Diane Holdorf said in an e-mail.