Celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh’s recent call to boycott avocados has sparked a heated debate in the industry.
In a candid interview with The Times, Titchmarsh urged consumers to swap avocados for cereal at breakfast, raising concerns over the fruit’s environmental cost. He remarked, “Most of those sold in the UK are grown where the rainforest has been felled at an alarming rate to accommodate them. They are then shipped, often more than 5,000 miles across the ocean, as breakfast for supposedly environmentally friendly consumers. There’s a lot to be said for Cornflakes, Weetabix and Shreddies.”
In response, Mark Everett, Avocados Director at UK supplier Worldwide Fruit, defended the industry. Speaking to Fruitnet, he clarified, “We have not sourced a box of avocados from Mexico in the last 12 months, with most of our supply coming from drier regions of the world where there has been no rainforest.
"Actually, where our avocado suppliers have established avocado farms in Peru and Chile they are classified as a carbon sink and aid biodiversity.” Everett also highlighted the local sourcing efforts, adding, “I am visiting avocados farms in Portugal today and judging by the level of rain in recent days and this winter, there is no short-term concern about water availability.”
The debate over the environmental credentials of avocados has not gone unnoticed by the World Avocado Organisation (WAO). The WAO maintains that the fruit’s ecological footprint is far less severe than many believe.
According to the organisation, “Avocados have a much more positive ecological footprint than often believed – the fruit’s water and carbon footprints are significantly lower than those of a wide variety of daily consumed foods.” They further noted that “over the last decade the industry has been adopting new technologies and innovations that further support sustainable agricultural practices.”
Backing up their argument, WAO pointed out that when considering the total greenhouse gases generated during production, the carbon footprint of avocados is around 25 times less than that of beef, 10 times less than lamb or cheese, 7 times less than coffee, and is comparable to that of other fruits.
A UK study published in the Journal of Environmental Management supports this view, revealing that avocados produce 2.4kg CO₂ equivalents per kg during production—roughly on par with plums and strawberries, and lower than raspberries and mangoes.
The WAO also highlighted that avocados account for a mere 0.031 per cent of total world trade and represent just 4 to 5 per cent of global vegetable and fruit production, thereby limiting their overall environmental impact.
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