It Turns Out Our Avocado Obsession Is Destroying Forests
[Photo: Getty]
Avo-toast might be easy fodder for your Instagram but it turns out that it’s also killing a LOT of trees.
According to a report by Associated Press, farmers can’t keep up with our demand for the squidgy green stuff and they’re having to clear forest land to make room for more avocado orchards.
This is especially true in Mexico, where farmers are trying to keep up with the US’s thirst for avocados. The price of avocados has also increased drastically.
Avocados and fir trees both thrive at the same altitude and in the same climate, so in Mexico’s mountains of Michoacan a lot of forestry is being cleared to make room for the more lucrative avocado plants. Trees are also cleared around the avocado plants to make sure that they’re exposed to enough sunlight.
[Photo: Getty]
Fewer fir trees is bad in a whole bunch of ways. The monarch butterfly lives in the forests in Michoacan and could be left without a home. And the lack of trees could affect all kinds of other species too.
Avocado orchards use more water to grow than fir trees, meaning that there’s less water left to run down into streams for animals to drink and to nourish other plants.
The deforestation will have an adverse impact on local people too. Growing avocados means using a lot of agricultural chemicals, wasting a lot of wood on packaging and also plenty of large trucks driving around.
So next time you’re in the fruit and veg aisle, opt for a banana or a bag of tomatoes instead, yeah?
