Noooo!
It’s a serious first-world problem but a problem nonetheless – the tide may be be turning on avocados.
Yes, it looks like the creamy, delicious fruit that has become synonymous with millennials is finally falling out of favour with foodies.
Several trendy restaurants in the UK have taken avocado off their menus over concerns about seasonal farming, environmental issues and even crime.
Buckinghamshire’s Wild Strawberry Café, thought to use up to 1,000 avocados a week, has said that it’ll no longer be serving them
In an Instagram post, its owners said that using avocados was at odds with its primary focus on local produce and that the food miles involved in transporting them were “just plain wrong”.
They also claimed that Western demand for the superfood was causing deforestation and putting strain on farmers in the developing world and that Mexican drug cartels were getting involved in exports.
Restaurants in Bristol and and south London have also vowed to ban avocados, reports Reuters.
Irish Michelin star chef JP McMahon has called for restaurants to cut back on avocados, telling The Irish Independent that ethically, they are like battery chickens.
“I don’t use them because of the impact they have on the countries that they are coming from – deforestation in Chile, violence in Mexico. For me, they are akin to battery chickens,” he said.
“I think Irish restaurants should make a conscious effort to not use avocados or at least reduce the amount they use. You can get Fair Trade avocados but most are not produced this way.”
Yikes. Maybe it is time to reexamine our avocado obsession.
