Unholy Guacamole

Deforestation, Water Capture, and Violence Behind Mexico’s Avocado Exports to the U.S. and Other Major Markets

The next time you eat guacamole there is a serious risk it will contain avocado that was grown on illegally deforested land, using stolen water, in a region of Mexico where Indigenous people and other residents face violence and intimidation for defending the environment. 

The world’s leading producer and exporter of avocados, Mexico supplies four out of five avocados eaten in the United States in exports worth US$3 billion per year. Mexican avocados are also increasingly reaching other international markets, with more than US$2 billion exported to Europe, Canada, and Asia over the past five years. U.S. avocado consumption has tripled since 2000, partly driven by the industry’s vigorous marketing campaigns, including claims of Mexican avocados’ “sustainability.” A 2023 Super Bowl ad showed Eve holding the fruit in the Garden of Eden, with the slogan that avocados “make everything better.”

Yet growing international demand has fueled the widespread clearing of forests in Michoacán and Jalisco, the two states that produce all Mexican avocados exported to the United States. Avocado producers use enormous amounts of water, and many illegally extract it from streams, rivers, springs, and underground aquifers to irrigate their orchards. The deforestation and water capture have taken a serious toll on local populations—contributing to water shortages and increasing the risks of lethal landslides and flooding.