Häberli, Christian (2019). Please Make Avocados Sustainable Again! International Affairs Forum, pp. 44-47. Center for International Relations, Washington, D.C.
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Spring 2019 IA Forum Food and Water Security2.pdf - Published Version Available under License BORIS Standard License. Download (3MB) | Preview |
"Where is the Problem?
The production of three avocados (1kg) requires one thousand liters of water. No problem if and where rains are abundant – but exports frequently originate in arid areas. It is called “virtual water” when we eat the fruit. But it is real fresh water for which many users are competing, for instance in Apútzio de Juárez (Michoacán, in Mexico, the world’s largest avocado producer by far). Some plantations are causing deforestation, said to imperil one of the most beautiful American butterflies, the monarch, who fly thousands of miles to their winter home in the nearby Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Near Cape Town (South Africa), in 2018, avocado trees were irrigated, even as the mayor of the city counted the days until the whole area would be running out of water. And, while cash crop producers in Ica (Southern Peru) are among the most efficient water users in the world, their hi-tech irrigation is tapped from slowly disappearing ground water. Moreover, their plantation workers live in nearby villages with hardly ever a drop of rain, with poor soil management, and without fresh water irrigation for their food crops. Drinking water is brought by a truck, and it costs four times the price of tap water in Lima. Remuneration is above minimum wages but there are few if any jobs elsewhere."
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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Division/Institute: |
02 Faculty of Law > Department of Economic Law > World Trade Institute 10 Strategic Research Centers > World Trade Institute |
UniBE Contributor: |
Häberli, Christian Martin |
Subjects: |
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 380 Commerce, communications & transportation |
Publisher: |
Center for International Relations, Washington, D.C. |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Pablo Rahul Das |
Date Deposited: |
02 Jul 2019 17:24 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 15:29 |
Related URLs: |
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Additional Information: |
Special Themed Issue: Food and Water Security |
BORIS DOI: |
10.7892/boris.131511 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/131511 |
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