The avocado is literally on everyone’s lips, especially among diet-conscious people and vegetarians. But how healthy is she really? Can you still buy them when they are also being criticized as a problem for the environment?
The fruit of the avocado tree – yes, it’s fruit, more precisely: it’s berries! – came to Europe with the Spanish conquistadors from the tropical regions of Central America. The trees, which can grow up to twenty meters tall, now thrive in many tropical and subtropical countries and it is expected that China will soon increase its cultivation.
Avocado: What varieties are there?
To put it simply, avocados come in three different types that differ in shape and fat content: the Mexican (M), the Guatemalan (G), and the West Indian (W). Of the more than 400 varieties (often also crosses between two types), only a few are available from us.
Our local grocers most frequently stock the “Fuerte” (a cross between G and M) and “Hass” (G) varieties.
A Fuerte is pear-shaped with a smooth, dark olive green skin,
the Hass is rather ovoid to round with a rough, green skin that turns black when the fruit is ripe.
The varieties differ in taste: while the yellowish flesh of the Hass tastes more nutty, the greenish flesh of the Fuerte has a mild, creamy taste.
Fatty Superfood: Is the Butterfruit Avocado Healthy?
Fuerte and Hass have in common the high fat content of around 15 grams of fat per 100 grams. This makes the green gold a calorie bomb: 100 g of avocado contain around 160 kilocalories (FDDB), a “portion” (usually meaning half an average avocado with 250 grams ) with its 125 grams comes to 200 kilocalories (kcal).
But: The fats in avocados are mostly healthy, unsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3 fatty acids. They can even help you lose weight by boosting your metabolism.
In addition to the valuable unsaturated fatty acids, avocados also have a healthy high content of B vitamins, vitamin A and vitamin E as well as minerals such as potassium and magnesium. They are rich in essential amino acids that our body needs, for example, to build muscle or reduce stress.
All in all, the avocado is a healthy, plant-based source of fat and protein (but only 2g protein per 100g), and not just for vegans. Something else makes them healthy despite their fat content: the stone fruit contains few carbohydrates (3g/100g). This means that the superfood is also suitable for a low-carb diet and reduces possible ravenous hunger attacks thanks to the slowly digestible fats.
Avocado & Environment: Transportation, Water, and Other Issues
In the industrialized countries, consumption of the green berry is booming. But it is increasingly controversial – because it has more and more effects on the environment.
The problems of the avocado
Long transport routes.
The majority of the avocados available in Germany come from Peru, Chile, Mexico and also from South Africa. So they have very long transport routes behind them, and that always means high CO2 emissions. The negative thing is that the fruit spends the long transport routes in refrigerated containers, otherwise you couldn’t offer them in this country.
Export vs. local production.
Large companies produce for international trade and export their avocados, while small farmers mainly sell their products regionally. The fewer small farmers there are, the less it is possible to ensure that the local population is adequately supplied. The players in the agricultural industry have little interest in small sales markets such as the local population. Instead, they are geared to the demand of the international markets they serve.
Social tensions.
In Mexico – one of the largest avocado producers – 80 percent of the forests belong to village communities. However, since arable land is becoming scarce, illegal deforestation is increasing. The traditional communal management of the land is also becoming more difficult as more land is sold to influential agricultural companies. In this way, the social fabric becomes increasingly unbalanced.
Crime.
The avocado is a valuable commodity in countries like Mexico – so organized crime is now involved there as well. Among other things, the state of Michoacán became known, in which protection money is extorted from the farmers and they have to organize themselves with vigilante groups. A star chef even said that they are the blood diamonds of Mexico.
deforestation.
Especially in Mexico, which produces by far the most avocados (FAO), environmental organizations complain about the illegal deforestation to make room for new cultivation areas. Indigenous peoples in particular suffer from this (NZZ).
water consumption.
An avocado tree needs around 50 liters of water per day, which is already scarce in the rather hot, dry growing areas. It is usually taken from groundwater or rivers that are diverted for this purpose. It is estimated that 1,000 to 2,000 liters of water are required for one kilo of the greasy fruit (source: VZ). That is 5 to 10 bathtubs of water (100 to 200l each) for about 4 fruits.
Drinking water.
Cultivation regions suffer from the lack of water caused by industrial agriculture. The private drinking water supply is also becoming increasingly difficult and sufficient drinking water can no longer be made available for households in the cultivation regions. In some regions of Chile, the entire population is therefore supplied with drinking water via tankers.
Conventional cultivation.
Sustainability plays a minor role in the main growing areas, the fruit is mostly grown conventionally and in monocultures and also artificially pollinated (see avocados vegan?). The mineral fertilizers used in conventional agriculture pollute the environment, especially soil and groundwater (UBA) and thus also drinking water. So what we eat here as healthy is unhealthy for everyone elsewhere.
Bad working conditions.
The demand for the “green gold” is high – in order to meet it, the avocado producers try to grow as many avocados as efficiently as possible. This is at the expense of the working conditions: the pay is poor and the working days are long and physically demanding. To make matters worse, child labor is not uncommon in production – as with many jobs in the agricultural industry.
pollutants.
In many cases, the water contains many pollutants due to self-drilled wells and poor filtration. This puts a strain on avocados, which actually don’t need any pesticides themselves. In some cases, however, benzalkonium chloride is subsequently applied as a disinfectant – residues remain in the fruit.
An ecological advantage should also be mentioned: the plant is relatively undemanding as far as the soil is concerned, and pesticides are usually not necessary (during cultivation; poisons are used for transport and no savings were made in the past either).
