8 ms·

Why America now eats a crazy number of avocados

90 points by fortran77 2y ago

brudgers 2y ago
https://archive.ph/HK3bh https://archive.ph/HK3bh
Animats 2y ago
This reads like an ad from the Hass Avacado Board.[1] Turns out that California is having a good avocado production year. Last year was bad, for usual farming problem reasons.[2] Not really much need for imports for the next few months. [1] https://hassavocadoboard.com/ https://hassavocadoboard.com/ [2] https://www.freshfruitportal.com/news/2025/01/30/california-avocado-crop-promises-relief-amid-soaring-prices/ https://www.freshfruitportal.com/news/2025/01/30/california-...
- neom 2y ago
  That first website is quite amusing to someone not in avacados... "HAPRIO IMPACT The Hass Avocado Promotion, Research and Information Order (HAPRIO) created the Hass Avocado Board (HAB), an industry-funded national program that has been recognized for being key to growing U.S. avocado consumption and driving value for producers and importers since its inception in 2002." sounds like an apache project.
  - 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
    Yep, for remote desktop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Guacamole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Guacamole
- ibejoeb 2y ago
  You hit on it. This is something that (small cohort of) American farmers can do domestically, but at a higher level, we ought to determine if it's better to do that or to have a trade arrangement. I really believe that Mexican avocados is a win/win. It frees up California farmers to produce more essential resources, and it gives Mexico a very viable export. I really like this as a study of healthy trade.
  - TulliusCicero 2y ago
    > I really like this as a study of healthy trade. https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/mexicos-avocado-boom-and-organized-crime/ https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/mexicos-avocado-boom-a... > While the European Union and Mexico are in the final rounds of negotiations towards the “modernization” of the EU-Mexico Trade Agreement (Global Agreement) our objective is to understand the dynamics of violence that accompanied the avocado boom, including organized crime activities, human rights violations, environmental crime and harm, and the potential impact of further liberalizing trade between Mexico and the EU. > ... > Increased international demand led to an expansion of land dedicated to avocado production, to the detriment of forest cover, resulting in deforestation and the subsequent degradation of soil, water, and biodiversity.
    - ibejoeb 2y ago
      On violence: sure, let's investigate it. I'm truly unsure if avocado production is a significant progenitor of violence, especially when compared to the prosperity it affords to the growers. > Increased international demand led to an expansion of land dedicated to avocado production I'm sensitive to that. That is my point on California.
    - whatever1 2y ago
      Violence cartels that have amassed more power than militaries (go to tiktok and see for yourself, they are literally flashing their attack helicopters, military grade weapons and armored vehicles) will use violence to control the flow of any commodity and asset. Avocados are not the problem. The cartels will get their cut one way or the other.
      - facile3232 2y ago
        To be fair I think the exact same thing about my own government.
        echelon_musk 2y ago
        Which government is that which is comparable to Mexican cartels?
- arp242 2y ago
  All these superlatives ("voracious appetite", "devours", "conquering America", "dazzling", "crazy number") in the first few paragraphs alone make it sound like an Apple announcement or something. Also, the "9 pounds of avocados a year" is about 27 avocados/year, or about one avocado every two weeks. Sounds a lot less spectacular. Of course, what we really need to know is many Olympic swimming pools all those avocados would fill.
  - Animats 2y ago
    > All these superlatives ("voracious appetite", "devours", "conquering America", "dazzling", "crazy number") Yes, which is why this looks like an ad or planted story.
pajko 2y ago
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/02/avocado-environment-cost-food-mexico/ https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/02/avocado-environment-...
ibejoeb 2y ago
Kinda feel like this is tariff bait, but, regardless... The article seems to do a pretty good job of telling the story. It's not terribly interesting. The big consortium of Mexican avocado growers made a giant push probably around 2015-2016 and dumped a ton of money into American and Canadian markets to sell avocados. It makes sense. California can grow them just fine, but so can Mexico. I think the more interesting aspect is that, considering how resource intensive they are, it might even be a legitimate good trade case, especially considering the size of the American/Canadian buying population versus the contention in viable domestic production area. This could be (or, really, has been) a very happy arrangement. I worked on some agave projects around the same time, so I watched on the sidelines while this was going on and knew some people working on the Avocados from Mexico brand. That part was pretty interesting, too, because it was a state-level initiative.
- senectus1 2y ago
  assuming they start planting trees NOW. it takes approx 4-5 years for a grafted avocado tree to start bearing fruit. of all the Tariff hit products this is probably the fastest of any of them to do what a Tariff is meant to do... Make the product attractive enough to produce locally unattractive to import. if growers trust that Trump is consistent and reliable enough to stick to his guns around tariffs (and he hasnt been to date, so thats a real leap of faith), then Avocados will be one of the first products that we'll see the effect of his Tariffs paying dividends to america. most the other industries and products take a lot longer than 4-5 years to "flip the switch" and start producing locally in numbers large enough to counter the imported numbers. I haven't seen him do much to bolster that industry other than the tariff... so it may never kick off. What might happen is the "Fad" for avo products might just die off and by 4-5 years comes around it might not be a product in demand anymore. Edit: oh also, 25% tariff might not BE ENOUGH of a price increase to affect the import numbers at all as well... its hard to know what the final straw is, in the consumer space. They can be fickle buggers.
  - ibejoeb 2y ago
    That's just the time to maturity for fruit bearing though. What about, say, the water requirements? But, yes, I think we agree. I think this is a case where we shouldn't provide an incentive to American growers, because it's probably more advantageous to import avocados and grow other things instead.
feverzsj 2y ago
Just like how Finland lured Japanese into raw salmon.
- thaliaarchi 2y ago
  https://www.npr.org/2015/09/18/441530790/how-the-desperate-norwegian-salmon-industry-created-a-sushi-staple https://www.npr.org/2015/09/18/441530790/how-the-desperate-n...
  - itsmemattchung 2y ago
    Thanks for sharing the link. Had no clue. Funny how things came about to be; who would've known that salmon wasn't part of the foundational sushi dishes until this occurred.
- throwaway519 2y ago
  Or nazis and fondue.
- nielsbot 2y ago
  You mean Norway. (See the link the sibling comment)
- ZYbCRq22HbJ2y7 2y ago
  By providing parasite free salmon? You make it sound nefarious, and maybe it is with farmed salmon. Are there similar concerns with Hass avocados?
ars 2y ago
"Congress established a federal program in the early 2000s that collects a few pennies for every pound of fresh Hass avocados sold in the U.S., whether they were grown domestically or imported." I'm not OK with this. I know the amount is tiny, but it's the principle of the thing, the US government should not be in the business of promoting stuff like this. That an inappropriate use of government.
- nickff 2y ago
  It’s a cartel, and as with most commercial cartels, it’s enabled by government enforcement.
- SilasX 2y ago
  Oh dang, the policy discriminates against frozen avocados? Maybe just a filler word.
levocardia 2y ago
I had no idea we have NAFTA to thank for avocados (in the USA). Seems like neoliberals and free-trade advocates should be trumpeting that one from the rooftops. Sounds like that was a win-win; Americans are rich so they can afford to buy avocados, which tasty and healthy; sweet American dollars improve the quality of life for Mexican avocado-growers. Fittingly, with the new tarrifs, we all lose.
- gedy 2y ago
  > Fittingly, with the new tarrifs, we all lose. I live in a former Avocado farm that was subdivided into homes after NAFTA made US production less viable after Mexico undercut our labor. It was a 50 year old industry and local jobs that was wiped out with free trade. It wasn't a win win.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - SethMurphy 2y ago
    You have a place to live and avocados now, that could be considered a win win. "Win" is such a subjective term as used here. The equation is not as simple as jobs lost equals bad, jobs gained equals good. I too have the gut reaction that a farm subdivided is a bad thing, but logically I can't really convince myself it's really as simple as that.
    - seivan 2y ago
      [dead]
  - energy123 2y ago
    Every innovation causes some people to lose (locally). Curing Alzheimer's will be bad for palliative care workers. What are we to do with that information? Should we stop investing in Alzheimer's research, or should we provide some social security as a temporary stop gap?
  - cantrecallmypwd 2y ago
latchkey 2y ago
I think the revolution was more than just riping, it has to do with the variety. When I moved to Vietnam, I found they also had a large amount of avo's used in a lot of dishes, but they are shaped differently and taste like chalk compared with sweeter/creamier Mexico/California avo's. Wow, just searching around, I found that I'm not the only one! It seems to be Haas vs. Booth... https://www.reddit.com/r/VietNam/comments/uw10hw/in_the_west_avocados_take_a_few_days_to_ripen_and/ https://www.reddit.com/r/VietNam/comments/uw10hw/in_the_west...
- Nursie 2y ago
  Ha, over here in Aus we get Hass most of the year but for a few weeks at the end of March/start of April we can only get Shepard and everyone moans about it! Hass are definitely superior, but Shepard aren’t all that bad. Bit rubbery maybe :)
- sdsd 2y ago
  Here in Guatemala they have regional avocados which also are terrible compared to Hass. What's cool though is that they grow all over the place and they're dirt cheap. Once I went to a park and realized the tree at the park was a (regional) avocado tree. But the avocados were REALLY high up. Like, there was no way we were gonna climb that sucker. So I knocked on a door that was right by the park, and I asked the young girl who answered if she had a stick or something we could use. She said "actually, we do" and she brought out this insanely long stick with a little forked part at the edge that was just for picking avocados. And we picked so, so many.
- vitorgrs 2y ago
  Here in Brazil there's like 10 different versions of avocados. You have all type of versions. Some are better to be eaten as guacamole... others are not. Here we do sweet avocados (just eat with sugar, or just put on a blender with milk). Some of them have more fat, others have less... Search for "Abacate pescoço". This is probably the most interesting and different one. :) I believe Hass is just better to export, because it doesn't spoil so easily. Another fun fact: I think majority of people don't really buy avocados in supermarket. They are grown all over the place. Streets, backyard, parks... In my street there's like, 5 avocados trees (with each being different type). Hass is the most rare here, you'll usually find it on supermarket only...
jb1991 2y ago
Is interesting that here in Europe there are lots of avocados, none of them are from the United States or Mexico. Many of them are very good though, I’m particularly fond of those that are grown in South America, usually Chile or Peru. I wonder if those are also haas avocados or not.
- rvnx 2y ago
  Yes most avocado sold in Europe are Hass. You can see by the shape and the skin type (others typically sold are longer and smoother outside usually).
- pkaye 2y ago
  My quick survey of California, Chile, Peru, Israel and Spain production suggests that Hass is the the most widely produced (maybe 80% of production) but other varieties are produced in lesser quantities.
- mrweasel 2y ago
  You cannot get a good avocado in Denmark, period. Last attempt I got eight that looked good. All but two was basically rotten inside, the remaining two just meeh. Trying avocado and guacamole in the US is just something completely different. The avocados are huge and absolutely perfect. I've just given up on avocados, I'll have to wait for a trip to Mexico or the US.
  - pal9000i 2y ago
    Denmark, imho, has the worst grocery stores of all Western European countries. I'm comparing an average supermarket not some organic high-end. I find grocery shopping usually pleasurable, Netto makes get out asap.
    - mrweasel 2y ago
      Even the high-end supermarkets in Denmark suck, but it makes sense, it's all the same three chains, COOP, Salling Group or Dagrofa. I read somewhere that Denmark is the country with the highest food prices in Europe, but we also spend the least on food. That's just a winning combination right there.
alanh 2y ago
"And the reason avocados have exploded in the U.S. is that most of them are no longer grown in the U.S. "We have developed such a voracious appetite for this versatile fruit that the U.S. now annually brings in nearly 3 billion pounds of avocados." These consecutive sentences each state as fact an opposite causality. How can the central thesis of the article be so confused?
- buckle8017 2y ago
  Simple, the purpose of the article is to argue against tariffs.
  - Yeul 2y ago
    Import tax.
- jstanley 2y ago
  They're not quite opposite. High appetite -> lots of fruit imported -> consumption "explodes" You can't consume what you don't have, so if they're not growing enough then they have to import them before they can be eaten. Both importing and consumption are downstream of high demand, but consumption is downstream of high importing.
  - szszrk 2y ago
    But is that really the reason? High appetite for avocados is the reason. Maybe combined with reasonable prices or some other factors. Importing them simply makes it possible for those purchase numbers to get that high. Means. If US would grow them in huge quantities on their own soil it would also allow for the same outcome. So how it is the reason? My English ain't amazing, I know, but when I read "old school press" it makes me thing: am I so dumb, or are they deliberately using confusing phrasing to sound smarter than it's actually required?
    - whatshisface 2y ago
      It's a would vs. could thing. To grow that many avocados in the US you would have to plow up whatever is growing there now, crops that are more profitable. That would require raising the price (to beat out the opportunity cost) and potentially accepting a lower quality (avocados aren't like polyethylene, and they'll come out differently depending on the location and the variety the local pest profile and climate require). Importing them from Mexico lets consumers have a good quality avocado at a low price. Offering someone a good deal raises demand for that deal relative to offering them fewer, lower-quality eaches at a higher price.
exodust 2y ago
Spread on toast with goats cheese, sauteed mushroom & fresh chilli; poached eggs on top of all that. Brew coffee and there's work-from-home breakfast sorted.
- dkdbejwi383 2y ago
  A lot of work for a week day! It’s weetbix or porridge for me, Vegemite on toast if I have bread
  - chasd00 2y ago
    French press and a vyvanse ( now off patent) for me.
  - xandrius 2y ago
    Fancy vs spartan
nailer 2y ago
It’s also because in 1990 Bills restaurant in Sydney Australia started serving avocados and chili flakes on toasted sourdough bread.
- righthand 2y ago
  My mother was eating Avocado toast in the 80s in California. That’s where I learned it.

90 points by fortran77 2y ago

https://archive.ph/HK3bh https://archive.ph/HK3bh

This reads like an ad from the Hass Avacado Board.[1] Turns out that California is having a good avocado production year. Last year was bad, for usual farming problem reasons.[2] Not really much need for imports for the next few months. [1] https://hassavocadoboard.com/ https://hassavocadoboard.com/ [2] https://www.freshfruitportal.com/news/2025/01/30/california-avocado-crop-promises-relief-amid-soaring-prices/ https://www.freshfruitportal.com/news/2025/01/30/california-...

neom 2y ago
That first website is quite amusing to someone not in avacados... "HAPRIO IMPACT The Hass Avocado Promotion, Research and Information Order (HAPRIO) created the Hass Avocado Board (HAB), an industry-funded national program that has been recognized for being key to growing U.S. avocado consumption and driving value for producers and importers since its inception in 2002." sounds like an apache project.
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
  Yep, for remote desktop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Guacamole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Guacamole
ibejoeb 2y ago
You hit on it. This is something that (small cohort of) American farmers can do domestically, but at a higher level, we ought to determine if it's better to do that or to have a trade arrangement. I really believe that Mexican avocados is a win/win. It frees up California farmers to produce more essential resources, and it gives Mexico a very viable export. I really like this as a study of healthy trade.
- TulliusCicero 2y ago
  > I really like this as a study of healthy trade. https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/mexicos-avocado-boom-and-organized-crime/ https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/mexicos-avocado-boom-a... > While the European Union and Mexico are in the final rounds of negotiations towards the “modernization” of the EU-Mexico Trade Agreement (Global Agreement) our objective is to understand the dynamics of violence that accompanied the avocado boom, including organized crime activities, human rights violations, environmental crime and harm, and the potential impact of further liberalizing trade between Mexico and the EU. > ... > Increased international demand led to an expansion of land dedicated to avocado production, to the detriment of forest cover, resulting in deforestation and the subsequent degradation of soil, water, and biodiversity.
  - ibejoeb 2y ago
    On violence: sure, let's investigate it. I'm truly unsure if avocado production is a significant progenitor of violence, especially when compared to the prosperity it affords to the growers. > Increased international demand led to an expansion of land dedicated to avocado production I'm sensitive to that. That is my point on California.
  - whatever1 2y ago
    Violence cartels that have amassed more power than militaries (go to tiktok and see for yourself, they are literally flashing their attack helicopters, military grade weapons and armored vehicles) will use violence to control the flow of any commodity and asset. Avocados are not the problem. The cartels will get their cut one way or the other.
    - facile3232 2y ago
      To be fair I think the exact same thing about my own government.
      - echelon_musk 2y ago
        Which government is that which is comparable to Mexican cartels?
arp242 2y ago
All these superlatives ("voracious appetite", "devours", "conquering America", "dazzling", "crazy number") in the first few paragraphs alone make it sound like an Apple announcement or something. Also, the "9 pounds of avocados a year" is about 27 avocados/year, or about one avocado every two weeks. Sounds a lot less spectacular. Of course, what we really need to know is many Olympic swimming pools all those avocados would fill.
- Animats 2y ago
  > All these superlatives ("voracious appetite", "devours", "conquering America", "dazzling", "crazy number") Yes, which is why this looks like an ad or planted story.

pajko 2y ago

https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/02/avocado-environment-cost-food-mexico/ https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/02/avocado-environment-...

ibejoeb 2y ago

Kinda feel like this is tariff bait, but, regardless... The article seems to do a pretty good job of telling the story. It's not terribly interesting. The big consortium of Mexican avocado growers made a giant push probably around 2015-2016 and dumped a ton of money into American and Canadian markets to sell avocados. It makes sense. California can grow them just fine, but so can Mexico. I think the more interesting aspect is that, considering how resource intensive they are, it might even be a legitimate good trade case, especially considering the size of the American/Canadian buying population versus the contention in viable domestic production area. This could be (or, really, has been) a very happy arrangement. I worked on some agave projects around the same time, so I watched on the sidelines while this was going on and knew some people working on the Avocados from Mexico brand. That part was pretty interesting, too, because it was a state-level initiative.

senectus1 2y ago
assuming they start planting trees NOW. it takes approx 4-5 years for a grafted avocado tree to start bearing fruit. of all the Tariff hit products this is probably the fastest of any of them to do what a Tariff is meant to do... Make the product attractive enough to produce locally unattractive to import. if growers trust that Trump is consistent and reliable enough to stick to his guns around tariffs (and he hasnt been to date, so thats a real leap of faith), then Avocados will be one of the first products that we'll see the effect of his Tariffs paying dividends to america. most the other industries and products take a lot longer than 4-5 years to "flip the switch" and start producing locally in numbers large enough to counter the imported numbers. I haven't seen him do much to bolster that industry other than the tariff... so it may never kick off. What might happen is the "Fad" for avo products might just die off and by 4-5 years comes around it might not be a product in demand anymore. Edit: oh also, 25% tariff might not BE ENOUGH of a price increase to affect the import numbers at all as well... its hard to know what the final straw is, in the consumer space. They can be fickle buggers.
- ibejoeb 2y ago
  That's just the time to maturity for fruit bearing though. What about, say, the water requirements? But, yes, I think we agree. I think this is a case where we shouldn't provide an incentive to American growers, because it's probably more advantageous to import avocados and grow other things instead.

feverzsj 2y ago

Just like how Finland lured Japanese into raw salmon.

thaliaarchi 2y ago
https://www.npr.org/2015/09/18/441530790/how-the-desperate-norwegian-salmon-industry-created-a-sushi-staple https://www.npr.org/2015/09/18/441530790/how-the-desperate-n...
- itsmemattchung 2y ago
  Thanks for sharing the link. Had no clue. Funny how things came about to be; who would've known that salmon wasn't part of the foundational sushi dishes until this occurred.
throwaway519 2y ago
Or nazis and fondue.
nielsbot 2y ago
You mean Norway. (See the link the sibling comment)
ZYbCRq22HbJ2y7 2y ago
By providing parasite free salmon? You make it sound nefarious, and maybe it is with farmed salmon. Are there similar concerns with Hass avocados?

ars 2y ago

"Congress established a federal program in the early 2000s that collects a few pennies for every pound of fresh Hass avocados sold in the U.S., whether they were grown domestically or imported." I'm not OK with this. I know the amount is tiny, but it's the principle of the thing, the US government should not be in the business of promoting stuff like this. That an inappropriate use of government.

nickff 2y ago
It’s a cartel, and as with most commercial cartels, it’s enabled by government enforcement.
SilasX 2y ago
Oh dang, the policy discriminates against frozen avocados? Maybe just a filler word.

levocardia 2y ago

I had no idea we have NAFTA to thank for avocados (in the USA). Seems like neoliberals and free-trade advocates should be trumpeting that one from the rooftops. Sounds like that was a win-win; Americans are rich so they can afford to buy avocados, which tasty and healthy; sweet American dollars improve the quality of life for Mexican avocado-growers. Fittingly, with the new tarrifs, we all lose.

gedy 2y ago
> Fittingly, with the new tarrifs, we all lose. I live in a former Avocado farm that was subdivided into homes after NAFTA made US production less viable after Mexico undercut our labor. It was a 50 year old industry and local jobs that was wiped out with free trade. It wasn't a win win.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- SethMurphy 2y ago
  You have a place to live and avocados now, that could be considered a win win. "Win" is such a subjective term as used here. The equation is not as simple as jobs lost equals bad, jobs gained equals good. I too have the gut reaction that a farm subdivided is a bad thing, but logically I can't really convince myself it's really as simple as that.
  - seivan 2y ago
    [dead]
- energy123 2y ago
  Every innovation causes some people to lose (locally). Curing Alzheimer's will be bad for palliative care workers. What are we to do with that information? Should we stop investing in Alzheimer's research, or should we provide some social security as a temporary stop gap?
- cantrecallmypwd 2y ago

latchkey 2y ago

I think the revolution was more than just riping, it has to do with the variety. When I moved to Vietnam, I found they also had a large amount of avo's used in a lot of dishes, but they are shaped differently and taste like chalk compared with sweeter/creamier Mexico/California avo's. Wow, just searching around, I found that I'm not the only one! It seems to be Haas vs. Booth... https://www.reddit.com/r/VietNam/comments/uw10hw/in_the_west_avocados_take_a_few_days_to_ripen_and/ https://www.reddit.com/r/VietNam/comments/uw10hw/in_the_west...

Nursie 2y ago
Ha, over here in Aus we get Hass most of the year but for a few weeks at the end of March/start of April we can only get Shepard and everyone moans about it! Hass are definitely superior, but Shepard aren’t all that bad. Bit rubbery maybe :)
sdsd 2y ago
Here in Guatemala they have regional avocados which also are terrible compared to Hass. What's cool though is that they grow all over the place and they're dirt cheap. Once I went to a park and realized the tree at the park was a (regional) avocado tree. But the avocados were REALLY high up. Like, there was no way we were gonna climb that sucker. So I knocked on a door that was right by the park, and I asked the young girl who answered if she had a stick or something we could use. She said "actually, we do" and she brought out this insanely long stick with a little forked part at the edge that was just for picking avocados. And we picked so, so many.
vitorgrs 2y ago
Here in Brazil there's like 10 different versions of avocados. You have all type of versions. Some are better to be eaten as guacamole... others are not. Here we do sweet avocados (just eat with sugar, or just put on a blender with milk). Some of them have more fat, others have less... Search for "Abacate pescoço". This is probably the most interesting and different one. :) I believe Hass is just better to export, because it doesn't spoil so easily. Another fun fact: I think majority of people don't really buy avocados in supermarket. They are grown all over the place. Streets, backyard, parks... In my street there's like, 5 avocados trees (with each being different type). Hass is the most rare here, you'll usually find it on supermarket only...

jb1991 2y ago

Is interesting that here in Europe there are lots of avocados, none of them are from the United States or Mexico. Many of them are very good though, I’m particularly fond of those that are grown in South America, usually Chile or Peru. I wonder if those are also haas avocados or not.

rvnx 2y ago
Yes most avocado sold in Europe are Hass. You can see by the shape and the skin type (others typically sold are longer and smoother outside usually).
pkaye 2y ago
My quick survey of California, Chile, Peru, Israel and Spain production suggests that Hass is the the most widely produced (maybe 80% of production) but other varieties are produced in lesser quantities.
mrweasel 2y ago
You cannot get a good avocado in Denmark, period. Last attempt I got eight that looked good. All but two was basically rotten inside, the remaining two just meeh. Trying avocado and guacamole in the US is just something completely different. The avocados are huge and absolutely perfect. I've just given up on avocados, I'll have to wait for a trip to Mexico or the US.
- pal9000i 2y ago
  Denmark, imho, has the worst grocery stores of all Western European countries. I'm comparing an average supermarket not some organic high-end. I find grocery shopping usually pleasurable, Netto makes get out asap.
  - mrweasel 2y ago
    Even the high-end supermarkets in Denmark suck, but it makes sense, it's all the same three chains, COOP, Salling Group or Dagrofa. I read somewhere that Denmark is the country with the highest food prices in Europe, but we also spend the least on food. That's just a winning combination right there.

alanh 2y ago

"And the reason avocados have exploded in the U.S. is that most of them are no longer grown in the U.S. "We have developed such a voracious appetite for this versatile fruit that the U.S. now annually brings in nearly 3 billion pounds of avocados." These consecutive sentences each state as fact an opposite causality. How can the central thesis of the article be so confused?

buckle8017 2y ago
Simple, the purpose of the article is to argue against tariffs.
- Yeul 2y ago
  Import tax.
jstanley 2y ago
They're not quite opposite. High appetite -> lots of fruit imported -> consumption "explodes" You can't consume what you don't have, so if they're not growing enough then they have to import them before they can be eaten. Both importing and consumption are downstream of high demand, but consumption is downstream of high importing.
- szszrk 2y ago
  But is that really the reason? High appetite for avocados is the reason. Maybe combined with reasonable prices or some other factors. Importing them simply makes it possible for those purchase numbers to get that high. Means. If US would grow them in huge quantities on their own soil it would also allow for the same outcome. So how it is the reason? My English ain't amazing, I know, but when I read "old school press" it makes me thing: am I so dumb, or are they deliberately using confusing phrasing to sound smarter than it's actually required?
  - whatshisface 2y ago
    It's a would vs. could thing. To grow that many avocados in the US you would have to plow up whatever is growing there now, crops that are more profitable. That would require raising the price (to beat out the opportunity cost) and potentially accepting a lower quality (avocados aren't like polyethylene, and they'll come out differently depending on the location and the variety the local pest profile and climate require). Importing them from Mexico lets consumers have a good quality avocado at a low price. Offering someone a good deal raises demand for that deal relative to offering them fewer, lower-quality eaches at a higher price.

exodust 2y ago

Spread on toast with goats cheese, sauteed mushroom & fresh chilli; poached eggs on top of all that. Brew coffee and there's work-from-home breakfast sorted.

dkdbejwi383 2y ago
A lot of work for a week day! It’s weetbix or porridge for me, Vegemite on toast if I have bread
- chasd00 2y ago
  French press and a vyvanse ( now off patent) for me.
- xandrius 2y ago
  Fancy vs spartan

nailer 2y ago

It’s also because in 1990 Bills restaurant in Sydney Australia started serving avocados and chili flakes on toasted sourdough bread.

righthand 2y ago
My mother was eating Avocado toast in the 80s in California. That’s where I learned it.