Avocados: Good For You, Bad For The Environment | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

Avocados: Good For You, Bad For The Environment

Our appetite for avocados is leading to deforestation, deaths and more.

4299
Avocados: Good For You, Bad For The Environment
Vicky Wasik

The original article was published here on August 24, 2016.


The popularity of avocados is fueling deforestation because Mexican farmers are leveling pine forests to illegally plant these money-making “green gold” fruit trees to meet the world’s insatiable hunger for avocados.

Local authorities are trying to crack down on the illegal plantings of avocado trees, but doing so is harder than said.

Mario Tapia Vargas, a researcher at Mexico’s National Institute for Forestry, Farming and Fisheries Research told the Associated Press: “Even where they aren’t visibly cutting down forest, there are avocados growing underneath (the pine boughs), and sooner or later they’ll cut down the pines completely."

And unfortunately, the woes that follow this green-gold goodness doesn’t end there. In Mexico, avocados can get you killed.

Avocado production is concentrated in the state of Michoacán where most of the plantations are controlled by the Caballeros Templarios Drug Cartel who force local farmers to give up a portion of their income on top of the taxes they charge for fruit sold and land owned. Those who don’t do play by the rules are murdered – thus the term “blood guacamole.”

People living outside of the Michoacán state are likely to feel the effects too. Greenpeace Mexico stated that, “beyond the displacement of forests and the effects on water retention, the high use of agricultural chemicals and the large volumes of wood needed to pack and ship avocados are other factors that could have negative effects on the area’s environment and the well-being of its inhabitants.”

The state’s forest also contains most of the wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly; the butterflies as well as the local wildlife who reside in the Michoacán state are suffering. Because a mature avocado tree uses almost twice as much water as a forest, less water is reaching the Michoacán streams that animals depend on.

Not all hope is lost though.

According to a news release from the Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association of Mexico, the industry says it will increase production of trees by planting 280,000 trees in 2017 and 320,000 trees the following year to prevent deforestation. An environmental board that will create guidelines for producing avocados in an environmentally friendly way is also supposedly underway.

So the next time you reach for an avocado in your grocery store, think again. Do you really want to be eating it?

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
10 things that happen the second Thanksgiving is over
reference.com

To those who celebrate, you just spent an entire day cooking an elaborate meal with all of your favorite foods. You probably ate your body weight in pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. What happens now? Oh yea, Christmas. It’s time to take out all of the decorations and Christmas themed things that have been sitting in the attic since last year; it’s time to make a reappearance. So, here are 10 things that happen the second Thanksgiving is over.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

18 Things I Want To Do Now That I'm 18

I'm technically an adult, so I'm legally required to live a little, right?

3001
Happy Birthday Cake

For the entirety of my high school career, I was always seen as the goody-two-shoes. I never got in trouble with a teacher, I kept stellar grades, and when I wasn't doing extracurricular activities, I was at home studying. Even when I did go out, it was usually with a bunch of fellow band geeks. The night would end before 11:00 PM and the only controversial activity would be a fight based on who unfairly won a round of Apples-to-Apples when someone else clearly had a better card (I promise I'm not still holding a grudge).

Now that I'm officially an adult, I want to pursue some new things. I want to experience life in a way that I never allowed myself to do prior to entering college. These are the years that I'm supposed to embark on a journey of self-discovery, so what better way to do that than to create a bucket list?

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics

The holiday classics that shaped my life

1807
10 Life Lessons from Christmas Classics
Flickr

The holiday season is full of stress, debt, and forced conversation. While we rush through the month of December, it's important to take a step back and enjoy the moments before they're gone. Most families love to watch Christmas movies, but these beloved films provide more than entertainment. Here are 10 life lessons that I've learned from the holiday classics we watch every year.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

201074
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

21454
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments