Sourcing Spotlight: Taking a Closer Look at Avocados

Hailed as a superfood for its heart-healthy fats, the avocado has enjoyed a dramatic rise in popularity over the past two decades, breaking out of its role in traditional cuisines to become a central feature of brunch menus and Instagram feeds across the Western world. Even beyond the plate, avocados have become part of the cultural zeitgeist, reflected in an overwhelming array of merchandise — jewellery, wall art, plush toys, T-shirts — and even used as shorthand for the financial habits of an entire generation.  

But what is the true cost of endless popularity? What impact does our insatiable demand have on the people, localities and landscapes behind the avocado supply? 

A mean, Green Marketing machine

Avocados grow in warm, tropical climates, including Mexico, Colombia, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Kenya and Indonesia. This article will focus largely on Mexico, the world’s largest producer, growing over 2.5 million tonnes of avocados in 2026.  

In 2023, Climate Rights International compiled a report on Mexican avocado production: 'Unholy Guacamole'. This incorporates extensive field research across Michoacán and Jalisco, interviews with nearly 200 people, and a review of previously unpublished US and Mexican government records. “We found that there’s been a huge expansion in avocado production over the last 20–25 years, largely to meet growing demand in the US,” says Senior Policy Advisor Daniel Wilkinson. Partly driven by extensive marketing campaigns, avocado consumption in the United States alone has tripled since 2000.  

This demand is taking its toll. "Avocados have become a symbol of healthy diets for many consumers,” says João Campari, Global Food & Agriculture Practice Leader at WWF. “But in some regions, rapid growth in demand has also highlighted wider challenges around water use, land management, ecosystem conservation and the protection of local communities. The scale and severity of these impacts can vary significantly depending on where and how avocados are produced, which is why it is important to look beyond the product itself and focus on the sustainability of the system behind it.”  

Let’s dig into some of these challenges. 

Environmental issues in avocado production 

1. DEFORESTATION 

The growing demand for avocados has fuelled the widespread clearing of forests in Michoacán and Jalisco, the two Mexican states that produce all avocados exported to the United States. “Almost all of this deforestation was unauthorised by Mexican law,” says Daniel. This illegal clearing is often accomplished through deliberate setting of forest fires, a separate crime in itself. 

Destroying forests in favour of agriculture takes a hard toll on the natural world. It releases greenhouse gases and reduces our planet’s capacity to store carbon, contributing to the climate crisis. In removing vital habitats, it poses a threat to natural ecosystems, native species and biodiversity.  

2. WATER SCARCITY 

Deforestation also contributes to water scarcity. “This is a region where there is already hydrological stress,” says Daniel, "and then cutting down all these trees affects the aquifers.” An aquifer is an underground layer of rock, gravel, sand or silt that acts as a natural subterranean reservoir, supplying freshwater to wells, springs and streams. Deforestation upsets this natural balance: without tree roots and leaf cover, soil loses its structure and becomes compacted. Rainwater cannot sink into the ground easily, so aquifers are no longer replenished. 

To compound this problem, avocado production itself is very water intensive, requiring at least 75,000 gallons per acre during a typical dry season. Many growers draw that water from nearby wells, rivers and streams, ultimately drying up local waterways and pulling water away from natural ecosystems. “Much of this water use by the orchards has also been illegal,” says Daniel. 

While there are some larger plantations in Mexico and Indonesia, globally, most avocado farmers are smallholders. “In Mexico alone, there are more than 35,000 small-scale avocado farmers,” says Michiko Shima, Senior Vice President, Agriculture at Fair Labour Association, observing that water-intensiveness disproportionately affects smallholder farmers — particularly when combined with extreme weather events driven by the climate crisis. “This is especially true in water-stressed countries such as Mexico, Peru and Kenya,” she says. “Small farmers have limited adaptability and limited investment for long-term improvements. Large plantations may be able to adapt better, but this may come at the expense of farmworkers.” 

3. BIODIVERSITY LOSS

As with many other crops, the quest for standardisation has stripped genetic diversity from avocado production. There are more than 400 varieties of avocado, but production is dominated by one: the Hass. Hass trees produce good yields and their tough skins offer greater protection against damage during shipping. Since its origin in California in the early 1900s, the original Hass has been grafted onto trees worldwide, now accounting for roughly 80% of all avocados. There are now an estimated 10 million Hass avocado trees across the globe — all descendants of one ‘mother’ tree. 

A lack of genetic diversity in any food renders it highly susceptible to threats like pests, new disease outbreaks and climate shocks, but it also has considerable environmental repercussions. When vast tracts of land are planted with nothing but a single species, critical habitats are lost and local ecosystems disrupted.  

Social issues in avocado production 

1. COMMUNITY IMPACTS

For communities living in these regions, these environmental issues are not theoretically negative — they are very real problems with damaging impacts on daily life. The water theft outlined above is a direct threat to residents’ human right to water, in areas where it’s already scarce. In many regions, household access to water is limited; during the dry season, some areas have running water for just one hour every three days. Residents of El Atascoso, Jalisco, told CRI that a well dug to irrigate a nearby orchard on recently deforested land has dramatically reduced the water available for their homes, driving some residents to leave and move elsewhere. As one local said in an interview for Unholy Guacamole, “They are exporting our water in the form of fruit.” Illegal deforestation and water theft have also increased the risk of lethal flooding and landslides, threatening lives.  

Price volatility can also have significant impacts on local communities. When demand for export skyrocketed, what was an everyday food was suddenly priced as a luxury. While domestic retail prices have since dropped, the region’s reliance on the avocado trade means that communities here remain vulnerable to market shifts and external influences. For example, the US ban on imports from Mexico in August this year meant that farmers had to sell domestically at vastly reduced prices. While this was somewhat good news for many Mexican consumers, it has meant massive losses for the producers whose livelihoods depend on those exports. 

2. ORGANISED CRIME

Drug cartels and other organised crime groups have a powerful presence in Michoacán and Jalisco. As reported by CRI, these groups have many links to the avocado trade, ranging from involvement in deforestation to owning avocado businesses and extorting those owned by others. The ongoing threat of violence from these groups is designed to stifle any opposition to the deforestation and water theft outlined above.  

The appropriation of forested lands for avocado farming has included areas legally classified as ejidos, collectively owned by Indigenous peoples. While some communities (like the Purépecha in Cherán) have been successful at keeping local gangs out of their territories, others have been met with violence. “A lot of local environmental defenders — many of them from Indigenous communities — try to protect their forests and their water on their own,” says Daniel. “They face threats, violence, killings.” 

CRI documents over 30 acts of intimidation, four abductions, and six shootings associated with avocado expansion in these regions. A journalist in Jalisco told CRI that it is prohibitively dangerous to investigate stories about avocado-related deforestation there. Even local authorities said that organised crime significantly impedes their ability to prevent illegal deforestation and water theft.  

3. FAIR LABOUR AND PAYMENT

“In general, as workers in agricultural sectors are often less informed and organised than their counterparts in manufacturing, their labour rights may not be as actively protected,” says Michiko. "In 2024, workers in Mexico’s avocado export industry filed a labour violation complaint regarding the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.” 

Michiko explains that labour rights issues can differ depending on the size of the farm and the sourcing country. “In smallholder farms, we generally first notice risks related to informal hiring practices. Wages and benefits are not recorded or do not meet legal requirements; wages based on volume rather than hours worked can make it difficult to determine if workers are earning the minimum wage; a lack of employment contracts leaves room for underage workers or unpaid family members to work; and harvesting jobs are seasonal and short-term, making workers vulnerable to exploitation due to unstable income and job security,” she says. In contrast, she observes, production in the US has fewer issues around wages, but more problems related to subcontracting and the exploitation of vulnerable workers, since US labour laws do not meet international best practices. 

One of the overall gaps that Fair Labour Association has observed among smallholder farms is the invisibility of harvesters. "Workers are not always hired directly by farmers — and, even if they are, farmers do not always keep labour records,” says Michiko. This makes it hard to raise workers’ awareness of their rights. “Without knowledge of their labour rights and what constitutes adequate working conditions, workers are less likely to use grievance mechanisms; they do not know what to complain about.” 

There are also safety issues particular to manually harvesting avocados with sharp tools on tall trees, she explains. “Protective gear like helmets and gloves can actually make workers unproductive and unsafe, due to an inability to move quickly or to have full visibility of their footing or surroundings. In addition, potable water is not always available for workers, especially on small farms. Avocados are water-intensive crops and compete for water use in communities, making it further challenging to ensure the availability of potable water for workers.” 

While harvesting generally requires large numbers of workers for shorter periods, Michiko says large plantations tend to have jobs available throughout the year and more professional practices in place, such as formal contracts and provision of legal benefits. “However, formalised workplaces are not free from labour issues. Without seasonal harvesting workers, they may have enough workers to make use of labour subcontractors. In countries where labour contractors are not regulated or are informal, it can be easier to overlook labour violations. Large workplaces can also hide discrimination by differentiating treatment of full-time workers from temporary workers or locals from non-local workers, keeping records only for the full-time or local employees."

What would a better avocado industry look like? 

In an ideal world, says Michiko, suppliers would live up to high standards not only in quality, but also in ethical production. "The industry would value farmworkers and treat them with respect. Workers would also learn not only the farming techniques for growing the best avocados, but also the benefits that consumers appreciate, which would make them feel proud to work in the industry.” 

“Consumer demand plays a powerful role in shaping what is produced, how it is produced, and where investment flows across food systems,” João points out. “But the relationship works both ways. WWF believes the future lies in nature-positive production: farming systems that protect natural habitats, responsibly manage land and water resources, restore soil health, and strengthen biodiversity while continuing to provide economic opportunities for farmers and rural communities. By scaling nature-positive production systems and making healthy, sustainably produced food more available, affordable and accessible, we can help make sustainable consumption the easier choice.” 

Certification is likely to play a major role in changing the avocado sector, with one success story already emerging in Mexico. CRI has been supporting an effort led by a Mexican NGO called Guardián Forestal, based in Michoacán. “They have the whole avocado region mapped out and are constantly monitoring for deforestation using satellites and AI,” says Daniel. “They set up a certification programme for packing houses in December 2024.” Packing houses are the companies that buy avocados from orchards and then export them. They run their supplier lists through Guardian Forestal’s platform, which immediately identifies any orchards on recently deforested land. “It basically identifies which orchards meet the requirements for certified packing houses to buy from them,” he explains. “There can't be any deforestation more recent than 2018 or forest fires more recent than 2012; otherwise, those orchards aren’t eligible to be suppliers for certified packing houses. If there's any unresolved environmental sanction — like a fee, a penalty or an administrative order from the Mexican Environmental Authority — they are also ineligible.” 

This project has already been successful, and Daniel shares that more than 80 packing houses are participating. As a result, around 90% of the avocados exported from Mexico to the US are now vetted by Guardián Forestal. "The programme is already having major impact on the ground. Producers with recently deforested lands are having a hard time finding buyers for their avocados, and deforestation rates are reportedly dropping throughout the region as a result. I can't name names, but some of the biggest supermarket chains in the US won't buy avocados from Mexico unless they’re certified.” In the longer term, CRI and Guardián Forestal hope to use this project as a blueprint for avocado production in other parts of the world. 

What should restaurants know about buying avocados? 

Every chef should be aware that avocados qualify as a high-risk commodity food. As such, sourcing them needs particular care. "This means looking beyond price and availability alone,” says João. “Companies should increasingly seek suppliers who can demonstrate responsible environmental stewardship, strong traceability, respect for workers and local communities, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Nature-positive supply chains are not built on a single certification or checklist. They are built through transparency, accountability and long-term partnerships with producers.” 

“It would be helpful if restaurants — any buyers — would only buy from retailers, importers or distributors who are participating in Guardián Forestal's programme,” adds Daniel. “For businesses in the US, this wouldn't be difficult at all, because 90% of them are covered. It's a very easy lift.” 

As Michiko observes, traceability of any agricultural commodity is key. "When visibility and direct connections to the farms and farmworkers are limited, labour risks increase. Without traceability, workers are unlikely to be recognised or their wellbeing even considered,” she says. “Buyers have a choice. Chefs should choose to work with suppliers and farmers who adhere to and demonstrate fair treatment and management of farmworkers. Sustainability certifications should be standard, demonstrating that the business has relevant policies and standards, training, monitoring and/or grievance mechanisms.”  

For high-value commodities, she says, buyers should ideally expect even more than ertification; they should look for validation that the implementation of human rights due diligence is real, not just on paper. “Initiatives like FLA's Agriculture Accreditation Program not only confirm that human rights due diligence systems are in place, but also verify their implementation and their impacts on workers at the farm level.” 

Michiko says that restaurants can follow some of the standards that FLA promotes. “Individual businesses or the industry collectively can commit to fair labour practices and develop a system to implement that commitment. Best practices include seeking collaborations with like-minded peers and partners to advance the implementation of risk assessment, traceability, training, monitoring and grievance mechanisms; continuing to address gaps; and consulting and seeking feedback for improvement. When suppliers and farmers do not consult, do not engage for feedback, and do not actively collaborate to address systemic challenges, they may not be the business partners that a sustainable restaurant is looking for.” 

“Like many globally traded food products, avocados highlight a much broader challenge facing food systems today: how do we produce nutritious food while protecting nature, supporting communities and ensuring decent livelihoods for the people who grow it?” says João in conclusion. "Ultimately, whether you're sourcing avocados or any other ingredient, the most important question is simple: does this supply chain contribute to the restoration of nature and the wellbeing of people, or does it contribute to their decline? The foodservice sector has a powerful opportunity to help shift markets towards production systems that work with nature rather than against it. That is the direction we must move if we are to build resilient food systems for the future.” 

If you’re looking for further inspiration on responsible sourcing, don't miss our 2026-27 global sustainability insights report, "Hospitality Rising: Global Challenges, Local Solutions”. Exploring the latest trends and influences shaping the sector, it’s packed with examples of smart sustainability initiatives from businesses of all shapes and sizes across the world. Download your copy here!     

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