U.S. State Department Urged to Ban Imports of Mexican Avocados Tied to Deforestation

An estimated 10 football fields of forest in Mexico are cleared every day to create avocado plantations, this letter notes. Mexico is the largest U.S. supplier of avocados, referred to as “green gold,” providing almost 90% of the fruit sold in the United States in 2018. Mexico is rapidly losing native forests in several states to the avocado industry. These areas include key winter habitat for monarch butterflies.

Avocados are a water-intensive crop, and meeting irrigation demand depletes water sources for local communities and leaves remaining native forests vulnerable to fire and disease.

This letter details not just the illegal deforestation that’s creating new avocado plantations but also threats to government inspectors as well as violence against local community members who oppose deforestation.

“Forests, monarchs and local communities will fare a lot better if we curb avocado imports from recently deforested land,” said Sanerib. “We shouldn’t be purchasing and promoting products linked to illegal activity. Instead, we need a system that rewards law-abiding avocado growers with access to the U.S. market while shutting out bad actors.”

Many Mexican growers have created legal, long-standing avocado farms that could continue to supply the United States if avocados from recently deforested lands are banned.

Stopping imports of harmful avocados would aid monarch butterflies, which desperately need protection. This year’s overwintering monarch population was the second-lowest ever recorded, and the population is only a sixth of the size scientists say is needed to avoid migratory collapse. Monarchs are currently a candidate species for U.S. Endangered Species Act protection.