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article/7xm8ab/this-is-how-bad-your-
                                                                                      As a consumer, the best thing you can  avocado-obsession-is-for-the-world;
                                                                                    do with an avocado is to “make sure that  “How Much Water Does It Take To
                                                                                    it doesn’t go to waste,” says Cumberlege.  Grow An Avocado,” old.danwatch.dk/
                                                Avocados also require an astonishing  “… avocados will not last days in the  en/undersogelseskapitel/how-much-
                                              amount of water to grow, some 320     fridge after they have been prepared, so  water-does-it-take-to-grow-an-
                                              liters per fruit. “The UK’s imports of  [they] should be enjoyed sooner rather  avocado.
                                              avocados contain over 25 million cubic  than later.”
                                              meters annually of virtual water—
        Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that my avocado  equivalent to 10,000 Olympic-sized  CONTACTS: “Green Gold: Global
      habit is bad for the environment and my  swimming pools,” reports Eldridge.   Avocado Boom Destroying Mexico’s       EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy
      carbon footprint?                       “With global temperatures rising and  Forests,” https://sputniknews.com/   Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3
                                              water becoming scarce, this has serious  latam/201608121044220909-avocado-  nonprofit EarthTalk. See more at https://
      — J. Pilsen, Olathe, KS                                                       mexico-destroy-forests; “This Is How Bad  emagazine.com. To donate, visit https://
                                                                                    Your Avocado Obsession Is for the    earthtalk.org. Send questions to:
                                                                                    World,” https://www.vice.com/en_uk/  question@earthtalk.org.
                                   Avocados























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        Compared to other fruits and vegetables  impacts on local communities who do     373 E. Imperial Highway, Fullerton, CA  92835
      that are grown closer to home, eating   not have access to drinking water.”
      avocados—most of which are flown in from
      Central America—can be a drag on your     Furthermore, the global popularity of
      carbon footprint. Furthermore, they require  avocados in recent years has led to             August 2020
      a lot of water, fertilizers and pesticides to  “monoculture” farms that grow only
      grow, further complicating this seemingly  one crop over and over, degrading soil
      “green” superfood.                      quickly and requiring increasingly
                                              more chemical fertilizers and              VIEW SERVICES on the INTERNET
        Avocado’s environmental impacts come  pesticides. Surging demand has also led
      from the “energy, water, fertilizer and  to rampant deforestation, especially in       www.CSLFullerton.org
      pesticides required to grow them, the   areas like Mexico’s mountainous
      resources used for packaging materials and  Michoacán. A researcher from Mexico’s
      the energy used in processing, transporting  National Institute for Forestry found  click Sundays/Past Services
      and keeping them cool to preserve their  that avocado production tripled there
      freshness,” Tom Cumberlege of Carbon    from 2001-2010—causing the loss of
      Trust tells Vice.com, also pointing out that  some 1,700 acres of forest annually.   Call for prayer & updates
      some of the biggest markets for avocados are
      in the UK, northern Europe and Canada.”   Compared to meat, avocados are still
                                              a much better deal for the                                  714-525-1126
        Despite that avocados can now be grown  environment—and much less of a drag
      around the world, the majority of them  on your carbon footprint. Indeed, the
      (upwards of two metric tons annually) come  Evening Standard reports that eating a      Choose Faith over Fear
      from Mexico. “A Mexican avocado would   kilo of lamb generates some 46 times
      have to travel 5,555 miles to reach the UK,”  the carbon emissions as the average
      reports Honor May Eldridge of the non-  pack of avocados. Enjoying a piece of   Are there other churches that would like
      profit Sustainable Food Trust. “Given the  farmed salmon will also increase your
      distances, fruit is picked before it’s ripe and  carbon footprint more than having  a listing here? Send information to email
      shipped in temperature-controlled storage,  some guacamole or avocado toast every
      which is energy intensive.”             now and again.                              nbynews@juno.com - Attn: Amanda

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