On a snowy December morning, I crawled from my bed in the dark. In the bathroom, I washed my hands, brushed my teeth, and slathered some moisturizer on my face. Before the waking sun had painted the mountains out my window a pale pink, before I’d even made it into the kitchen, I already had palm oil on my hands, face, and tongue.

I coaxed my sleepy son into a warm shower. And there it was again, in his soap, shampoo, conditioner, and the lotion I rubbed on him afterward: more palm oil. He was barely awake, and yet my five-year-old was already coated in the stuff.

To see just how ubiquitous palm oil had become in our lives, I decided to