European Union goes all the way with “unsustainable” label for palm oil

In Belgium, Bloomberg reports that the European Union is heading straight into a trade war over palm oil after the European Commission definitively deemed palm oil “unsustainable” although exemptions were made for oil produced by small farmers growing on 2ha or less. Those farmers are thought to not be responsible for deforestation like large-scale plantations are said to do but it is also an attempt to keep major producers like Malaysia and Indonesia from starting a trade war or going after the EU at the WTO. The two countries have indicated that the small farmer concessions are not enough to stop retaliation.

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