There’s a global boom in demand for avocados. In the US, demand nearly doubled between 2010 and 2015. But supply has gone down, and prices have gone up. The pressure of this market has driven deforestation and water shortages in avocado-growing areas like Michoacan state in Mexico.
What’s a guacamole lover to do? Does buying California avocados make a difference? Or only eating them in season? And when is avocado season anyway? Join the conversation on the next Your Call, with Renee Kemp, and you.
Guests:
Edgar González Godoy, general director of Rainforest Alliance México
Marc Bellemare, associate professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota, and director of the Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy
Scott Murray, organic avocado grower for Edge of Urban Farm in San Diego County, and president of the South Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council
Web Resources:
Marc Bellemare: Avocadonomics
Scott Murray: Edge of Urban Farm
Ecosystem Marketplace: Taking the Deforestation out of Avocados
Grist: Peak Avocado
Food Tank: Thirst for Avocado Leaves Plantations Dry
LA Times: Warning to avocado lovers: a California shortfall may send prices soaring
OC Register: Avocado shortage: A perfect storm of problems is causing a surge in prices
AP: Mexico: Deforestation for avocados much higher than thought
Independent: Demand for avocados destroying Mexico's pine forests
Civil Eats: Green Gold: Are your Avocados Draining a Community’s Drinking Water?
Michigan State University Extension: Avocado consumption: environmental and social considerations
Stanford News: Stanford researchers seek least destructive balance of agriculture vs. forests
