Chocoholics and like-minded individuals with a sweet tooth know that an apple a day is no problem at all, as long as you've got a trusty tub of Nutella to slather all over them. From crepes to bread to fruit, for people all over the world, Nutella is the go-to guilty pleasure spread of choice.

But it really is a guilty pleasure, according to Ségolène Royal, France's environmental minister. In a televised interview on Monday (June 15th), Royal urged consumers to stop buying the sweet spread because it's made with palm oil, a product that causes severe harm to the environment in Malaysia and Indonesia, where 85% of the world's supply is produced.

Ack! Is Nutella really that bad? Yes and no. If giving it up sounds like a fate worse than being stuck on a desert island without coconut water or hummus, you might want to learn more about the true cost of your snack attacks.

Palm oil is causing deforestation and killing orangutans and other wildlife.

Palm oil, which is listed as the second ingredient in Nutella, is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world, which makes it a very profitable crop. It's derived from the fruit of an oil palm tree, which grows in the same area as rain forests.

The problem is that in Malaysia and Indonesia, where 85% of the world's palm oil comes from, as many as 300 football field's worth of rain forests are cleared every hour in order to make way for profitable palm oil plantations. When this happens, the orangutans and other animals that live there, are homeless, and often die as a result of having been displaced.

Nutella might be part of the problem, but it's definitely not the only part.

While Royal was right that Nutella contains high amounts of palm oil, it is by no means the main culprit, nor will a boycott of the product likely solve the problem of palm oil-related deforestation.

According to Brittany Wienke with the Rainforest Alliance, a group that works, among other things, to increase and promote sustainable palm oil production, "As for whether Nutella is the worst offender [of palm oil use] it would be hard to say if any one particular brand or product could be the worst, since nearly half the products you’d find at a grocery store contain palm oil in one way or another. That includes cleaning products, soaps, some types of chocolate, and other shelf-stable packaged goods like biscuits, crackers and cookies... Palm oil is also a component of biofuels, especially in Europe."

The large number of products that use palm oil may also be unlikely to change any time soon, as the food industry works to eliminate trans fats from its products in an effort to comply with the FDA's mandate that trans fats be completely eradicated by 2018. Natural fats like palm oil are often suggested as a replacement for highly unhealthy trans fats.

Many companies, including the one that makes Nutella, have agreed to higher environmental standards when it comes to farming the palm oil they use.

The ethical issues associated with palm oil production are by no means new news, and in 2004, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed. The roundtable is a non-profit group that certifies products using oils that have been farmed in an environmentally conscious way.

In order to qualify for RSPO certification, the oil used must meet criteria like demonstrating environmental responsibility and conserving biodiversity. Ferrero, the company that makes Nutella has been using 100% RSPO certified oils in countries like France since 2013.

If you really want to avoid ethically questionable palm oils, you should leap towards this frog.

Although the RSPO aims to protect Malaysian and Indonesian rainforests from deforestation, its standards are difficult to enforce. Palm oil farming has brought many people in forested areas out of farming, so residents in the area may be hesitant to avoid practices that may limit the degree to which they can harvest oil palms.

RSPO standards also only apply to recently-created plantations and may allow for some wiggle room when it comes to the definition of "responsible." There is a more stringent form of certification available - Rainforest Alliance certification. Oils labeled with the Rainforest Alliance's emblem often come from Columbia, far away from where the orangutans play. The good news is, foods like Dove dark chocolate and Clif bars us products from farms that are Rainforest Alliance certified. For a full listing, of companies that use Rainforest Alliance certified oils, check here.

There's always the option of just making your own Nutella at home. (Yes. Seriously.)

Want to help save those adorable orangutans and satisfy that insatiable urge for hazelnut goodness? Try making your own at home with a recipe like this one!