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US importers sued for 'greenwashing' Mexican avocados
- daedrdev 1y agoAs a reminder the Cartels are heavily involved in Mexican avocado production, and regularly commit what would be considered war crimes or crimes against humanity for a nation in their power struggles.
- lazide 1y agoSure, but at this point apparently so is everyone? Are you going to eat or not?
- gameman144 1y agoI don't think US American avocado farmers are committing war crimes.
- lazide 1y agoIllegal labor? And if you listen to the current administrations apparent stances on it, give it a year for the war crimes part.
- ASalazarMX 1y ago"I'm not a bad person, I just indirectly finance brutal cartels".
- gameman144 1y agoBut US-farmed avocados are the alternative to cartel-financing avocados. Am I missing something?
- cherry_tree 1y agoThat the US funds brutal cartels?
- gameman144 1y agoUS avocado farmers don't, though (unless I've got the wrong farmers in mind).
- cherry_tree 1y agoAnd I think that’s why the parent used the word “indirectly”. By supporting US industry you are indirectly supporting the US government and its actions, because those taking part in commerce in America pay taxes which support the US government. If you believe the US governments actions to be illegal or immoral then supporting US farmers would not offer a material difference to supporting Mexican farmers who themselves (it is alleged here without sources) are made to contribute towards the cartels.
- gameman144 1y agoMaybe that is what the parent meant, but that definition really dilutes the idea of responsible vs irresponsible choices to the point of meaninglessness, IMO. Donating to a food bank lowers the taxpayer burden of paying for food, and American taxes fund cartels, so you're very indirectly funding cartels when you donate to a food bank. I'm not sure that would influence any reasonable person's actions in any meaningful way, though.
- cherry_tree 1y agoBut isn’t your assertion equally indirect? “I don’t buy from Mexican farmers because they are extorted by cartels and forced to give them money which they in turn use to fund activities I don’t approve of” Vs “I don’t buy from American farmers because they are extorted by the government and forced to give them money which they in turn use to fund activities I don’t approve of”
- daedrdev 1y agoI don't eat Mexican avocados, I buy the more expensive ones grown in the US because of the cartels.
- krapp 1y agoAnd as a reminder the Cartels are funded by the CIA.
- ASalazarMX 1y agoPolitical groups are the cartels, what we know as cartels are their customer service employees. The biggest proof is the consistent unwillingness of governments to stop them in any effective way, and I'm not talking about drugs only.
- ToucanLoucan 1y ago> “Regulatory oversight and validation of good practices are very difficult to document for compliance over the border,” he noted, “They are of course done much better here. And there are validated and official fair market agreements between wholesalers and retailers that require documentation and compliance.” This is such a bullshit excuse (on the industry's part, to be clear, not the person speaking). If we cared to validate supply chains, it would be done, for this and everything else. We don't because the people in power do not want to know. They don't want to know how greenwashed avocados are, they don't want to know how many diamonds come from conflict zones, they don't want to know how much of their lithium was mined by kids, and all the rest. We know how to solve these problems and we're choosing not to, and not only are we maintaining harms done overseas in the process, we're also destroying the ability for domestic producers of... everything, really, to compete in the market too. But the lines gotta go up, so on we go.
- SoftTalker 1y agoI mean, if it bothers you, stop buying avocados. I think the truth is that consumers don't want to know either.
- ToucanLoucan 1y agoThat's not a solution, it's defeatist horseshit. I want avocados. I don't want avocado growers to be able to hide their environmental impact. I want lithium batteries. I don't want kids mining lithium. I want animal products. I don't want animals needlessly tortured in factory farms. I don't feel like I'm asking for the fucking moon here.
- chickensong 1y agoAmen. Sadly, it seems next to impossible to bring this sort of change and accountability to industry. In the meantime, our only option is pay premiums (both financially and in effort), which the masses are unable or unwilling to do, in order to opt out of the current system (if it's even possible). At least you're thinking about the issues, and seem to care, so thanks for that.
- consumer451 1y agoQuestion for those currently living in the USA. How much do you pay for Hass avocados? At Lidl in Poland, 2x (perfectly ripe, in a box) Hass can be currently purchased for ~$2.50. This blew my mind when I first saw it, coming from Seattle a few years ago. I believe they are all grown in the EU, in Spain.
- paxys 1y agoThere's a very wide range (depending on location, season, size, quality), but in NYC I expect to pay about $1 to $1.50 an avocado.
- consumer451 1y agoOK, that is much less expensive than I expected. Oh, and I should have been more clear. These are "perfectly ripe, in a box" fancy style. Edited gp.
- margalabargala 1y agoPrice primarily varies based on size. Small avocados sell for $0.99 with regularity, while extra large ones may be $2.50 each.
- consumer451 1y agoThat's what I was trying to compare. These are perfect large and ripe Hass in my original comment. Might I ask, where do you see those prices?
- margalabargala 1y agoJust at the local Safeway
- sandworm101 1y agoNY is famous for cheap fruit at the street level. That's the advantage of being a port city. Go somewhere like small town Iowa if you are looking for high-priced avocados.
- huevosabio 1y agoThe US loooooves to find excuses to block foreign produce. When it comes to produce, it routinely finds itself on the protectionist side.
- taude 1y agoSomething like only 6% of imported produce is inspected (although I've read that 98% isn't). I've been back-chair commenting for years: wait until all the Whole Foods shoppers find out their favorite South American-Foo actually isn't organic. This seems like a variation on this.
- mvdtnz 1y agoNew Zealand grows avocados sustainably and ethically and exports to USA. If you're interested in buying ethical fruit.