Life isn’t just about EU Exit. As Lib Dems we must also develop sensible and practical green credentials. Some are very difficult and costly. Others are a lot easier and proven to be practical.
Palm oil, an industry that involves destruction of huge swathes of rainforest, falls into the easy category.
A while back Iceland (the supermarket) pledged to remove palm oil from own brand products. Putting aside some tricks to cover up a few failures, they largely succeeded. It can be done.
I would, therefore, propose a complete ban on products containing palm oil to take effect 12 months from passing the legislation. It is true that the measure will add to production costs but Iceland managed without raising prices noticeably so others can follow suit.
An alternative to a ban, which is quicker than legislation in the event we leave the EU Customs Union and can set our own tariffs, is to levy punitive Customs duties on palm oil and products containing it. In other words, price it out of use.