U.S. Demand for Avocados Fuels Deforestation and Violence in Mexico

Illegal avocado farming in Mexico leads to environmental degradation and human rights abuses, casting doubt on U.S. and Mexico's climate pledges.

The insatiable demand for avocados in the United States is driving deforestation in Mexico, with over 25,000 acres of oak and pine forests in the western Mexican state of Michoacán now converted into avocado orchards.
The avocado trade, worth $2.7 billion annually, is often facilitated by violent gangs and corrupt government officials who threaten local farmers and landowners.
Avocado trees require more water than the trees they replace, leading to the depletion of aquifers and the siphoning of irrigation meant for local farmers' other crops.
Despite a 2021 United Nations agreement to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030, the avocado trade between the United States and Mexico continues unabated, casting doubt over the countries' climate pledges.
Local people fighting against deforestation and water theft in Mexico have become targets of intimidation, abductions, and shootings.