Senators Ask USDA, USTR to Ban Import of Avocados Grown on Deforested Land
A half-dozen Democrats asked the USDA to certify that Mexican avocado orchards exporting to the U.S. are not on illegally deforested land. Their letter, which they publicized on Super Bowl Sunday, peak avocado consumption time, said they read an article in The New York Times that showed avocado growing in Michoacan and Jalisco "has had a catastrophic impact on the environment and local communities.
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The letter also said a report by Climate Rights International "further outlines the devastating toll of the U.S.-Mexico avocado trade: government officials in Michoacan and Jalisco identify avocado production as 'a central cause of deforestation and environmental destruction in their states,' including water theft. The report also outlines how Indigenous leaders and others seeking to defend their forests and water have been threatened, attacked, and killed."
The Avocado Institute, which represents Mexican avocado exporters, says 97% of orchards are irrigated sustainably, and the majority rely on a combination of rainfall and what they called "natural, seasonal irrigation." The Association of Avocado Exporting Producers and Packers of Mexico also highlighted its work to reforest in Michoacan, and its work to prevent forest fires, and educate the community on environmental protection.
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and his colleagues, wrote to the agriculture secretary, secretary of state and U.S. trade representative, asking for a staff briefing within 45 days "to better understand the steps the Administration is taking, and could take in the future, to prevent the sale of avocados in the United States linked to deforestation, unsustainable water use, and violence against Indigenous and other local communities."
They suggested that the Operational Work Plan that currently certifies pesticide use could be expanded to cover deforestation, which they said the Mexican government would support.
"Because most Mexican avocado orchards are not on recently deforested land, the Administration could implement policy changes without significantly reducing American consumers’ access to avocados or harming the livelihood of law-abiding avocado farmers," they wrote.