![]() The farming solution to this has been to dig deeper into the ground and suck up groundwater, causing a drop in the water table and affecting all vegetation in the area. The Monarch butterfly, for example, is facing a potentially lethal threat from its now limited supply.Ĭalifornia, another Mecca of the industry, has been plagued with several droughts over the last few years. The trees are notorious for needing substantial amounts of water to survive – twice as much as a regular forest – and this is having a devastating effect on other animal species. The Western world is thirsty for avocados, and the avocados are thirsty full stop. A massive 30-40% of annual forest loss is due to avocado plantations alone. As a result, farmers readily take part in illegal thinning of mature pine forest to plant the more profitable avocado trees. It could even be argued that it is the avocado capital of the world. 80% of all avocados in the US are produced in Michoacán region of Mexico, a volcanic area with highly fertile land and the industry is worth 1.2 billion to the area. The avocado has had an especially negative effect due to the mass deforestation required to source land for avocado plantations. ![]() Monoculture reduces biodiversity as well as soil fertility, making regeneration near impossible. The Impact of Avocado Plantations Monoculture & DeforestationĪny crop grown in monoculture is inherently bad for the environment. Indeed, they’ve now found their way into recipes for smoothies, brownies, even coffees – gone are they days that they only come out for guacamole.īut while the fruit may be good for your own personal wellbeing, they have a much more threatening effect on the planet and the farming communities that provide them. Avocados are preached by nutritionists to be a “superfood” containing healthy monounsaturated fats, and foodies everywhere have flocked to welcome them. This surge in popularity is partly due to avocados becoming more accessible, and partly due to a growing awareness of the health benefits behind plant-based diets. In the United States alone, avocado consumption per capita has increased 443% over the past two decades. Since the lifting of trade ban from Mexico to America in 1994, avocados have experienced a meteoric rise in demand from the global market. Seen all year round on the menus of trendy restaurants and all day long on Instagram feeds, the avocado is a staple of the millennial brunch-focused diet.
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