The Daily Update: Avocadon't Even Get Me Started

Some of us here at SSC have been watching Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime, which I hasten to add is very good. One of the scenes towards the end of the series made us think. In this age of social media driven fads, where daily there seems to be a new superfood or diet that we should all be investigating, the one food that is synonymous with the culture, may be good for you and your heart, however, is shocking for the planet, the humble AVOCADO.

We fully appreciate this is not our area of expertise, however after surfing the interweb we found that despite some claiming that avocados are a sustainable superfood, the reality is that eating avocados have serious environmental consequences.

Despite the fact that avocados can be grown across the world, the primary producers of avocados remain in South and Central America, in part due to the environmental specificity of growing the fruit. Avocado production is massively water-intensive, roughly 70 litres PER FRUIT, more than 12 times as much as it takes to grow a tomato in your greenhouse. Mexico is the largest producer. In Mexico, avocado production accounts for over 500,000 acres and has been steadily growing as demand for the fruit increases. According to local officials, every year, more than 20,000 hectares of forest land is being converted into avocado plantations, resulting in massive deforestation, which in turn has taken its toll on biodiversity. The global industry today is worth over USD5.5bn annually. A Mexican avocado will have to travel over 5500 miles to reach the UK. Given the distances, fruit is picked before it is ripe and shipped in temperature-controlled storage, which is very energy intensive.

Water is the biggest issue. With each avocado requiring an astonishing amount of water, plus the high profit to be made on the fruit, the cultivation of avocado is often prioritized above other crops. Since avocados tend to be grown for export and not for local communities, this prioritisation has a negative impact on local food security. Furthermore, the water is exported within the fruit and is lost from the local ecosystem where the fruit was grown. The UK’s imports of avocados contain over 25 million cubic metres annually of virtual water – equivalent to 10,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. With global temperatures rising and water becoming scarce, this has serious impacts on some local communities who do not have access to drinking water.

The story is further complicated by a strong presence of drug cartels in the central region of Michoacán which produces 80% of Mexican avocados. Gangs have been known to demand protection money from farmers and have repeatedly threatened USDA inspectors when they visit farms. There has also been a marked upsurge in violence in the region due to the profits associated with the so called ‘Green Gold’ forcing farmers to invest in expensive fencing and armed security.

Now of course all of us could write a derogatory note about most food in the world on a quiet Friday. However, I for one will have second thoughts next time I go to buy my guacamole from Waitrose.