I HAVE decided to stop eating chocolate. Those who know me will be astounded; and to be honest, I’m surprising myself. For the past few years I have ended every meal (except breakfast) with a piece of chocolate. I don’t think I could give it up without a substitute, and the substitute right now is the wonderful, delicious, creamy, cashew nut, from southern Thailand.

But why give up chocolate?

Well, there are lots of reasons. Number one, I’m trying to eat locally-produced everything, and if you’ve ever tasted Thai chocolate you will know that it’s a non-starter. Thai chocolate isn’t chocolate, it’s a travesty of chocolate.

Then there’s the question of ingredients. Just about every confectionery brand uses palm oil, and if you knew what I know about palm oil, you would probably commit to avoiding not only chocolate, but bar soap, lipstick, toothpaste, pizza, ice cream, cooking oil and every other product that relies on destroying the habitat of orangutans.

“Cocoa farming contributes to rainforest and old-growth forest deforestation. By clearing land in forests, farmers decrease the biodiversity and interactions between the organisms that naturally live in the area. Many wildlife habitats are destroyed and the plant species diversity is drastically reduced”.