Palm oil accounts for 40 percent of the plant-based oils used in the world, from cooking to cosmetics to food processing, according to the World Wildlife Fund, because it’s odorless, tasteless, colorless, unusually smooth, and works well even under high heat.

But palm oil’s popularity has come at a price: it’s been linked to cardiovascular disease and the epidemic of human obesity.

Also, millions of acres, particularly among Pacific island nations such as Indonesia, continue to be clear-cut to plant more palms.

As a result, ecosystems and wildlife habitat are being decimated and air quality is degraded as farmers burn the native vegetation to make way for the new trees.

But breathe easy: alternatives are on the way.

U.S. company C16 Biosciences has created Palmless—an alternative, made in lab vats, with all of palm oil’s good qualities and none of its environmental baggage.

The company feeds sugar to a strain of yeast, which then produces the Palmless oil. 

Just as important, the process takes only a few days. In contrast, a palm tree won’t yield fruit for the first several years after it’s planted and then won’t produce at its peak for at least another seven years.

Similarly, scientists at the University of Bath in England have created a strain of yeast that eats everything from lawn clippings to food waste and produces an acceptable palm oil substitute. 

The squishy mass that’s left after the oil is harvested can be used as a protein-rich food for humans and animals.

The group has launched a company called Clean Food Group to commercialize its discovery.

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