Avocado

Everyone loves avocados. From ‘avo-toast’ to the adorable Jellycat Amusable Avocado plush toy, avocados have captured the hearts (and minds) of consumers globally. 11 billion pounds of avocados were consumed globally in 2020 alone. Yet, in recent years, avocados have also been caught up in a series of political and ethical debates. Avocado consumption has been politicised not only as a threat to American national security, but also as a reason why young Australians find it difficult to afford housing.

Meanwhile, the contested politics of avocado production can be understood in terms of different visions of sustainability. The environmental sustainability of avocados has been questioned in particular. A number of restaurants in Ireland and the UK halted the use of avocados given the environmental and socioeconomic impacts on avocado producing regions such as Michoacán, Mexico.

The sustainability of sustainable development

Concerns over the negative ecological impact of avocado production mainly focus on deforestation and excessive water usage. In Michoacán avocado cultivation is highly concentrated. Just three counties – Tancitaro, Uruapan, and Periban de Ramos – comprise more than 50% of the cultivated area. Data shows that expanding avocado production is gradually eroding some protected areas in the region. This includes its influence on the area’s ecological diversity like its impact on the migratory patterns of Monarch butterflies. The Monarch Butterflies reserve is predicted to be directly impacted by avocado production in 2050 if no action is implemented. Due to deforestation, species including Pine, Oak, and other forests are also expected to suffer serious losses by 2050.

Avocado production has also affected soil quality in Michoacán. Research has shown that avocado production may reduce nitrogen and increase water run-off in soil. The huge water demands of avocado production also produce serious impacts. It was estimated that water consumption in Mexico has almost doubled in the past two decades. Avocados, with the same leaf area as pine leaf forests, consume two to seven times as much water. Avocado monocultures have thus resulted in a decline in soil water content. Consequently, residents in Michoacán have experienced water supply problems.

Indeed, scholars have raised concerns that Mexico’s focus on regional specialisation in avocado production has overshadowed the recognition of ecological damages. The concept of comparative advantage helps to explain why agricultural specialisation is prioritised, given Mexico’s comparative advantage in the crop. Trade will, in turn, be good for development and in the case of avocados, a ‘sustainable’ form of development. With Michoacán, its ideal geographical conditions enable producers to hold a competitive edge in global markets. Applying the logic of comparative advantage, growth in market demand means an increase in land usage for avocado production. However, increasing production-related environmental damages raise questions about the sustainability of maintaining this level of competitiveness to meet the increasing global demand for avocados.

Popular, sustainable, investable avocados

The rise in demand for avocados is strongly related to consumer perceptions of the health benefits associated with avocado consumption. Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats and an excellent source of dietary fibre. Moreover, they are presented as an eco-friendly choice, with a lower carbon footprint than meat. Therefore, the avocado has moved from a one-time parochial staple of a few countries like Mexico to a globally traded, high-value crop. In the process, corporations have sought to capitalise on the idea that trade in avocados can be good for consumers, producers, and the environment.

Two organisations, Avocados From Mexico (AFM) and the Mexican Hass Avocado Importer Association (MHAIA), have played a pivotal role in promoting demand for Mexican avocados. AFM and MHAIA have collaborated with stakeholders across the supply chain to advertise avocadoes. In a key move, they targeted the lucrative US market by paying millions for a commercials during the American Super Bowl, positioning avocados as the must-have party snack for the game. The association with such a major event significantly boosted sales and sparked conversations on various social media platforms, creating a buzz around avocados.

In this, the wider power of social media should not be neglected. Avocados have turned into a lifestyle trend on social media, with #Avocadolover accumulating 597K posts on X, while #Avocadotoast has been posted 2.2M times, with users sharing avocado-related content to signal their health-consciousness, morality, and social standing. For example, Chipotle’s #GuacDance challenge on TikTok got users to show off their best dance moves for ‘National Avocado Day’. This trend has generated over 250,000 videos and 430 million video starts during its six-day run. Social media platforms have been effective at amplifying avocados as a healthy superstar, increasing the consumption of avocados by 400% between 1990 and 2016.

Economic success at what cost?

The rapid growth in demand for avocados means they are now considered a global agricultural commodity. Since Mexico supplies 45 percent of the world’s avocado market, its specialisation in avocado production is a significant contributor to their economic growth. However, the history of Mexican agriculture suggests a series of dilemmas relating to the speed and concentrated nature of agricultural development. In pursuit of industrialisation and a preference for commercial crops, Mexico’s state-led model of economic development meant agricultural production had gradually shifted to a large-scale mechanised export system dominated by large enterprises.

Furthermore, the increased external demand for the fruit coincided with Mexico’s participation in economic agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). As NAFTA brought about the lifting of a phytosanitary import ban in November 1997, Mexican avocado production entered a period of rapid development. The share of Mexican avocados in the US market expanded rapidly from less than 1% in 1990 to nearly 90% in 2015. Global exports of Michoacán avocados also grew sixty-fold just between 2000 and 2018. As a result, the sudden hike in avocado exports is seen as an economic success and even earned it the nickname ‘green gold’.

It is nonetheless necessary to examine the extent of this success critically. A prevailing notion of comparative advantage is that all actors gain from global trade. This widely held belief has been promoted within the free trade system to persuade poorer nations to open their markets for increased economic development. Mexico’s increased participation in international trade is a testament to the mainstream acceptance of this belief. However, it is important to note how the belief in mutual gains has distorted the complexity of global trade.

Avocado producers in Michoacán had to significantly adapt to the demands of specialisation. Although massive global demand ensures the profitability of avocados, it has also turned Mexican agriculture into an avocado monoculture, and the high yields have attracted the interest of organised crime. Indeed, the presence of cartels has not only led to increasing social conflicts with authorities, but also enabled these groups to partake in acts like land grabbing and illegal deforestation. The growing levels of social unrest have generated negative perceptions of the ethical value of these lucrative crops, with some labelling them the ‘blood diamonds of Mexico’ and ‘the world’s conflict commodity’.

These complex socioeconomic dynamics inevitably shape how the avocado boom is experienced by producers. In the case of Michoacán, the majority of profits generated are concentrated amongst powerful actors such as landowners. This contrasts the claims that all actors receive mutual economic benefits from participating in global trade. Therefore, scholars including Matthew Watson and Reinhard Schumacher have become increasingly critical of the applicability of comparative advantage to understanding international trade. Overall, the reality of avocado production in Michoacán illustrates how socioeconomic challenges among avocado producers need to be addressed, before sustainability in the form of consumer awareness and environmental protection can be introduced.

Conclusion

Avocado consumption thus reflects broader challenges in our food systems where choices have far-reaching effects. The avocado supply chain faces the dilemma of meeting consumer demand while minimising negative environmental impact. The balance between economic prosperity, social justice, and ecological sustainability of this global commodity is critical, especially during a time when the intersection between IPE and climate change can no longer be overlooked. In this way, the avocado bears resemblance to products like almond milk which are promoted as healthy and sustainable, though their environmental impacts are a point of contention. Ironically, the same health-conscious consumers who choose avocados often care about environmental sustainability. By tracing the everyday political economy of avocados, we hope to demonstrate the limits of simple answers like ‘trade equals development’, or that ideas like sustainability can be the property of one or other crop. Instead, the point is to reflect the political stakes of market life through the complex relations of people, food, land, and butterflies.