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Headline should be "The drug cartels are wreaking havoc in Mexico". They would be trying to extract rent from any industry, the industry just happens to be avoc
by zacherates 8y ago
Headline should be "The drug cartels are wreaking havoc in Mexico". They would be trying to extract rent from any industry, the industry just happens to be avocados.
- g00gler 8y agoFrom the article, expanding avocado farms is leading to drought and deforestation. Increased use of pesticides is making the pickers sick and poisoning the ground water
- fogzen 8y agoSo buy organic or fair trade avocados instead?
- hh3k0 8y agoOr, even better, don't buy food that has to get transported thousands of miles. Stick to local and seasonal cuisine. That is also the most pro-environmental option.
- ars 8y agoIn today's world local cuisine is not better for the environment. It's worse. Transportation costs are extremely minimal but fertilizer and other growing costs are way higher. Using only local cuisine is actually worse for the environment than using food that grew in the best place possible for it.
- pcmaffey 8y agoThis is false. Local food is generally more expensive because real estate and labor costs are way higher. Nutrients and electricity (the inputs with direct environmental impact) account for a tiny fraction of the cost of production. Yields may be slightly lower, but farmers won't grow crops that aren't relatively optimized to the environment. No one's growing avocados in Missouri (except perhaps in a tropical greenhouse, which likely is designed to self-sufficiently sustain its environment).
- ouid 8y agoin this case, drug cartels extracting rent from them would be a boon to the environment, since it is now less profitable to grow avocados.
- sudouser 8y agoon the contrary, drug cartels jumped at this opportunity to increase profits by effectively controlling price, reaching ridiculous levels down there
- Panoramix 8y agoI'm always wary of articles that have zero numbers in them.