"A boom in avocado production in Mexico has led to illegal deforestation and an influx of drug cartels dominating the lucrative trade. But Indigenous communities have fought back against the gangs and turned to traditional practices to grow avocados and save their forests."
"The cultivation of avocados for American consumers is wrecking Mexico’s forests, as growers have illegally cleared the trees and drug cartels have moved in to launder their ill-gotten gains in this lucrative trade. U.S. consumption of avocados has risen almost fivefold in the past 25 years, with 90 percent of the fruit now coming from two states in southwest Mexico’s “avocado belt,” which is now known for its deforestation and criminal violence. Americans are said to be consuming “blood avocados.”
This dark underside of the avocado boom has received international attention in recent years. But it is not the whole truth. Some Indigenous communities in the state of Michoacán, the world’s largest producer of the crop, are finding ways to ward off the crime syndicates and grow avocados profitably while protecting their biodiverse forests of oak and pine, including vital hibernation habitat for the monarch butterfly overwintering from the United States.
Mexican researchers say the key to their success lies in traditional systems for community management of their forests. The lesson may be applicable far beyond the borders of Mexico, they say. Collectively owned lands can be the best basis for creating “bioeconomies” that combine economic exploitation of the land with the conservation of natural resources."
Agustín del Castillo and Fred Pearce report for Yale Environment 360 May 2, 2025.
Advertisement 
