The production of avocados is at its peak, with a consumption of more than 5,000 million kilograms per year in the world. No one, apparently, wants to escape its delicious taste, as it can be eaten in a myriad of ways and always be satisfied. However, as delicious as it is, the production of this fruit is already beginning to wreak havoc on our planet, mainly in Mexico. Although our country has the majority production of “green gold”, its massive harvest is not predominantly destined for local consumption, since it is exported to the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.
Michoacán is the main Mexican avocado-producing state; 8 out of 10 avocados in Mexico grow in Michoacán, and 5 out of 10 in the world have this origin. Due to this, the plantation fields of the fruit in Michoacán cover the equivalent of 196,000 soccer fields and the economy depends on the 2,500 million dollars a year that come from its planting.
Until twenty years ago, the Mexican government had prohibited the export of avocados to the United States, due to the risk it represented for agriculture. In 1997, the legal conditions changed, since it was confirmed that the avocado was free of pests; then the export started. Also, the entry into force of the FTAsigned by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, strengthened the Mexican avocado industry.
The cost of avocados for the Super Bowl
In 2005, Mexican avocados reached all supermarkets in The United States, the country that became the first consumer of the fruit and whose consumption has doubled in the last ten years. “Avocados from Mexico” (Avocados from Mexico) was the first agricultural company to pay for an advertisement for the super bowl. During the sporting event, 7% of the annual consumption is consumed in a single day.
Although the figures should be a cause for celebration for Mexicans, the situation is rather alarming. The massive production of avocados is generating an adverse effect, with irreparable environmental damage that contributes significantly to the climate change.
The production of the fruit in Michoacán has required the clearing and massive felling of forest ecosystems, since the plant requires large amounts of sunlight, which makes it incompatible with large trees. Through illegal logging and forest fires, Avocado producers seek to create new spaces to meet the global demand for avocado.
Climate change: avocados and deforestation
As a consequence, Michoacán is already experiencing changes in temperatures and torrential rains. Studies by the National Autonomous University of Mexico have shown that the drought and high temperatures in Michoacán occur with irregular figures, which has impacted on phenomena such as the migration of the monarch butterfly.
Likewise, those close to 9,500 million liters of water daily that are used to irrigate avocado plants threaten to dry up the state’s aquifers. The overexploitation of water deposits has also generated irregular telluric movements.
The social factor has also changed with the exploitation of the avocado, since the industry has become one of the investment points of the organized crime. In coalition with corrupt government authorities and illegal logging, the threatened avocado production has claimed victims of environmental defenders and indigenous communities.
Given the situation, in Michoacán there are eleven autonomous municipalities that have decided to resist the ecocide that avocado production represents. Cherán was the pioneer municipality that has opted for reforestation and environmental protection since 2011.
The american perseapopularly known as avocado or avocado is a tree of the genus persea and from the family Lauraceae. Its fruit is an edible berry and It is native to the Mesoamerica region. especially from the central areas of Mexico and Guatemala.
The oldest evidence of its consumption dates back more than 10,000 years old and were found in Coaxcatlán, Puebla. However, it is currently cultivated in almost all parts of the world where there is a good level of humidity and heat.
By Rodrigo Osegueda
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