Let’s crush this daft avocado ban
TrenDY cafes are banning avocados because of ‘threats to the planet’ and claims that the trade is being controlled by Mexican drug barons. I wish reporters and the cafe owners did some research to justify these alarmist statements and reflected on the impact of these actions on other poverty-stricken communities. Mexico is the world’s largest producer of avocados, but its crop is absorbed locally or exported to the U.S. The UK imports thousands of tonnes of avocados a year, of which only 2 per cent come from Mexico. The rest originate from Peru, Chile and South and east Africa, all transported by sea, while more than 20,000 tonnes arrive overland from Spain and Israel. The claim that ‘blood avocados’ sent to the UK from Mexico help finance gangsters is highly questionable given that the vast majority of the fruit we eat here is sourced elsewhere. The simple answer to those worried about this issue is to avoid buying and eating Mexican avocados. The fruit has a long natural storage life and improves with time, so is ideally suited to sea transport, the preferred method of shipment. Avocados have rarely been shipped to the UK by air. They can’t be grown here commercially so, along with many sub-tropical or tropical fruit, such as bananas, have to be imported. Thus one cafe owner’s statement that ‘food tastes better when it hasn’t been flown 5,000 miles’ is wildly erroneous. Container sea freight has an extremely low carbon footprint per tonne. I have spent a lifetime working in horticulture in developing countries and have seen first-hand the alleviation of poverty and the immense social benefits gained by poor subsistence farmers through programmes actively encouraging international trade. Avocados are almost the perfect fruit because they provide many essential nutrients, plus omega 3 and unsaturated fats. With today’s obesity crisis, the eating of avocados should be encouraged and promoted by retailers and food outlets for the fruit’s nutritional value and for the beneficial impact its production has on small local farmers. The fruit should not be vilified by ignorant cafe owners who, through their misguided publicity, are not helping to save the planet, but risk putting entire hard-working communities back into poverty. ALAN HIGGINSON,
Evesham, Worcs.