Avocados have become so closely associated with the diets of millennials and generation Z. Everybody is interested to try out new recipes with avocados and they have become a trend in the food market. The U.S. alone is consuming 400percent more avocadoes than they did 10 years ago. Indeed, the popularity of avocados has risen to such an extent that they have earned the nickname “green gold” due to their status as a lucrative cash crop.

However, the immense admiration for avocados comes at a considerable environmental and social cost. In regions like Mexico, the soaring demand for avocados has led to the illegal destruction of vast forested areas by farmers, clearing land for cultivation. This practice has significant consequences for the environment and the communities residing in these areas. In the past, many of these regions were community pine forests, now replaced with avocado plantations due to their high profitability compared to traditional crops like corn. Consequently, this deforestation not only harms the environment but also has detrimental social implications for the local communities. 

As well, the immense popularity of avocados has led to their dominance as a monoculture in certain regions. Similar to commodities like sugar, coffee, palm oil, and corn, avocados are cultivated extensively, resulting in vast agricultural lands dedicated solely to their growth. Monoculture crops such as avocados have a detrimental impact on the soil, depleting its nutrients over time and diminishing its fertility. As a consequence, the soil becomes unsuitable for future cultivation. This nutrient depletion makes crops more vulnerable to pests and diseases, necessitating increased use of pesticides and fertilizers, which, in turn, can contaminate the soil and harm local plants and wildlife.

The cultivation of cash crop commodities like avocados also drives deforestation as farmers clear vast natural lands for expanding plantations. Deforestation not only contributes to climate change and the extinction of species but also results in an elevated presence of carbon in the atmosphere. Moreover, the removal of forests leads to soil erosion, which can trigger hazardous conditions such as flooding and mudslides. The cumulative effect of these practices presents a significant threat to the environment and the delicate ecological balance.

The biggest problem is that avocado plantations uses a great amount of water. Around 9.5billion liters of water are used every day in order to grow avocados. It poses a great degree of pressure on the region’s supply. Given that avocados are frequently cultivated in regions susceptible to drought, the act of growing avocados has the potential to deprive entire communities of the essential water they require to sustain life.

Like this, a food that seemed very beneficial for our health and diet could be actually harming the environment without people actually aknowledging it. I think that it is important to know all the defects of our actions and that everything in moderation is the best.