The United States of Avocado

[barathr]

Most folks who live in California can grow more avocados than they can possibly eat. If you don't have a tree, you should get one. I would highly recommend against any of the varieties listed in this article. Your best bet is Hass -- grown at home it's way better than what you get at the store -- or Reed. Check out your local California Rare Fruit Growers chapter for more rare varieties that do well in your area.

[FanaHOVA]

Where in California are you? Will now buy a Hass tree for my backyard in Redwood City and report back. The avocados are always so bad at the stores.

[amelius]

Huh, avocados require tonnes of water and California has recurring droughts.

[jandrewrogers]

I love avocados and lived several years in San Diego where the trees are ubiquitous and avocados are free. They are actually lovely trees generally though quite large. No one can deny that the marketing around avocados has been a huge success.

People are overthinking it. America has a large range of territory where avocados will do well. San Diego, with its Mediterranean climate that is more ideal than the actual Mediterranean, produces excellent avocados, but as the article points out, most avocados are produced in Mexico, which shares a climate with a huge swath of the southern US and translates to northern Africa.

Avocado ubiquity is possible. They also don’t really ripen on the tree, which makes them a flexible bit of vegetable. They have a lot of potential.

[computergert]

I don’t read anything about the large water footprint of growing (=consuming) avocado’s. Is this a theme in the US?

I live in The Netherlands, where avocado’s have grown in popularity too. We import them from Peru, I believe. A region that’s already facing water shortages.[1]

However (just did a Google search) when looking at nutricion value it seems to be doing ok. [2]

[1] https://www.savemoneycutcarbon.com/learn-save/how-much-water... [2] https://avocadofruitoflife.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Th...

[4ggr0]

Same thoughts here from a fellow european. I actually stopped buying and eating avocadoes a couple of years ago because I read and heard about large avocado farms sucking up all the water in south america, leaving common people without water and other issues.

not that this is exclusive to avocadoes, but still.

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/04/24/a-serious-risk-mex...

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/avocado-environment-c...

[chucksta]

It is an there are, Avocado's aren't as high on that list here because they can grow naturally in SW USA. There is a greater concern with almonds and alfalfa in the area.

[senectus1]

You guys, you need to try "Avocado and Vegemite sandwich's"

Its amazing easily my fav combo with avo's

[ianmcgowan]

Gonna try this tomorrow with marmite, will report back!

[astura]

Butter or no butter?

[hollywood_court]

My wife ate at least one avocado and one kiwi per day while she was pregnant. My son then started eating them as soon as he could eat solid food. He still eat kiwis rather frequently, but he has had at least one avocado per day for the past five years since he started eating solids.

We rarely kept avocados in the house before my wife became pregnant and now we can never be without them.

[yumraj]

Report back in 15 years if he turns out to be a genius.

[fdr]

The article goes on about watery and/or mealy avocado. I've personally found the best way to avoid this, and get a more interesting, nuttier flavor, is to buy small avocados. I like the trader joe's "teeny tiny avocado" bags.

But, even if not labeled as such, I've had similar luck in other venues. Small is beautiful.

[benknight87]

Come to Vietnam! There are so many kinds of avocado out here.

[throwup238]

> According to the US Department of Agriculture, consumption of avocados in the United States has tripled since 2001, climbing to more than eight pounds per person each year.

Man, y'all ain't pulling your weight. I easily eat eight pounds of avocados a week. Thank god for globalization, they're available year round now!

> After getting laid off from a job, he went to work on it seriously, and he launched Primavera’s consumer website last May. Through it, customers nationwide can order a box of four pounds of avocados from their groves for $39 or sign up for a subscription plan.

Holy shit, that's why. It's like $5 per 2 pound bag at Trader Joes here.

[zdragnar]

I doubt I eat a pound in a year. Are you vegan/vegetation? I can't imagine eating that much otherwise, unless you have a very unhealthy obsession with guacamole...

[schickm11]

For a different angle on the impact of the Avocado boom read “Forbidden Fruit: The anti-avocado militias of Michoacán“

https://harpers.org/archive/2023/11/forbidden-fruit-avocado-...

[ohmyiv]

That's a good article. The different perspective from the locals in the area is a good thing to keep in mind. It's really cool to see local communities banding together to protect their lands and their own interests.