British restaurants are being urged to take avocados off their menus after concerns were raised that ‘blood avocados’ are being used to fund Mexican drug cartels.
Drug cartels are taking control of farms in west Mexico following a spate of violence, with the Western obsession with the fruit driving prices up to the point at which cartel bosses are beginning to take notice. One cartel, Knights Templar, is said to earn almost $300 million a year from avocado sales alone – making it more profitable than the drugs themselves.
“Change won't happen unless consumers avoid them,” said Michelin star chef JP McMahon, owner of restaurants Aniar and Tartare. “We don't use any in our restaurants. There are plenty of alternatives. I don't use them because of the impact they have on the countries that they are coming from – deforestation in Chile, violence in Mexico. For me, they are akin to battery chickens."
The Wild Strawberry Café in Buckinghamshire posted a lengthy explanation on Instagram.
“The Western world's obsession with avocado has been placing unprecedented demand on avocado farmers, pushing up prices to the point where there are even reports of Mexican drug cartels controlling lucrative exports,” the post read, also announcing that the popular avocado on toast dish is being replaced with sautéed mushrooms.
The issue of unethical Mexican avocados reared its head in August last year, when an article was published by the New Zealand Herald titled “Why you should stop eating avocados”, citing Mexican drug violence as a key reason. Following the publication of the article, New Zealand Avocado CEO Jen Scoular said that New Zealand does not import any avocados.
“The article is misleading because it doesn’t mention New Zealand’s positive role in the international avocado industry. We don’t want Kiwis to be put off purchasing avocados based on incorrect information and a lack of knowledge and understanding about our successful and sustainable industry,” she said at the time.
