Local avocado: do you know when it is in season?

Almost all of us agree: avocado is great. But who would have imagined a few years ago that today we would eat so much avocado? For health there is no problem: avocado is full of virtues and eating it frequently cannot but have benefits. But from an environmental point of view It is not the same to eat an avocado brought from afar than a local avocado.

Many avocados come to us from Mexico, Chile or Peru, although countries such as Indonesia, the United States or South Africa are also large producers. In order to enjoy them, they not only have to travel many kilometers to reach usbut also that greens must be collected and kept at a certain constant temperature to ensure their maturation.

However, for a few years Avocado is also grown in Spain. This fruit requires a subtropical climate to grow well. For this reason, most of the production is concentrated in Malaga, especially in the Axarquía region, and in other areas of Andalusia, such as Huelva, Cádiz, Granada or Almería. It is also cultivated in the Canary Islands, Murcia, Alicante and Valencia.

If we choose to consume local avocado, we must know that it will not be available all year. If now we can find him in any month, it is because he comes from afar. The harvest season in Spain may vary slightly from one area to another, but basically It is harvested from December to May.. The most cultivated variety is the Hass, which is being joined by more and more varieties that also adapt well to our climate.

Too high an ecological footprint

From an environmental point of view, the avocado has two main drawbacks: on the one hand, Its cultivation requires a lot of water.. On the other, it usually comes from afar, so they must travel many kilometers before reaching our tables. Added to this are the environmental problems that its massive cultivation, forced by the increase in demand throughout the world, causes in some of the producing countries.

How much water is needed to produce an avocado

The first drawback, its high water footprint, affects both avocados from far away and those grown here, although we can put it into perspective.

To grow 1 kilo of avocado, it is estimated that, in general, about 1,000 liters of water are required. According to the World Avocado Organization (AWO), an association made up of avocado producers, water consumption in avocado production has been reduced to around 600 liters per kilo in Spain thanks to the optimization of the crops. This puts us at approximately a consumption of between 250 and 150 liters of water to produce an avocado.

According to data from the Water footprint Network, this water footprint is above other fruits and vegetables such as tomato (50 liters for a 200 g tomato), peach (140 liters for a 150 g peach), orange (80 liters for a 150 g orange) or banana (90 liters for a 150 g banana). 120g). there is also above the egg (60 liters of water per egg).

However, it stands slightly below milk (255 liters per 250 ml glass of water) and far below butter and any kind of meat: butter (5,550 liters per kg, that is, 83 liters for a 15 g teaspoon), beef (1,860 liters for a 120 g steak), pork (718 liters for a 120 g cut) or chicken (885 liters for a breast of 200 g).

A problem that is often pointed out when talking about the ecological impact of avocados is that the high demand has led to intensive and very unsustainable cultivation in areas where water is scarce, which not only aggravates the drought but also leads to a loss of biodiversity and soil impoverishment.

We can avoid these problems if we choose organic avocados. In addition, a part of the water footprint is reduced. To calculate the water footprint of a food, the contamination of the water derived from its cultivation is taken into account (what is known as the gray footprint), which is reduced in organic farming.

Lower carbon footprint if you choose local avocado

The carbon footprint of food, that is, its environmental impact in terms of the greenhouse effect, is also reduced if you choose local and seasonal products.

According to a Carbon Footprint study, a couple of conventional avocados, imported from afar, have twice the carbon footprint of a kilo of bananas and three times more than a cappuccino made with cow’s milk. An important part of that carbon footprint comes from the CO2 emissions generated by its transport.

That’s why it’s important look at the origin of the food we eat and give priority to local products. In the case of avocados, in Spain we also have several initiatives for the production of sustainably produced organic avocadoin Andalusia and other areas.

Out of season you can always leave the avocado for special occasions and opt for sustainable alternatives just as healthy that provide you with good fats and/or similar uses.