The Ethics of Avocados

Came across this article yesterday after hearing a spot on it on the Good Food podcast out of KCRW in LA.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303277704579349283584121344?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303277704579349283584121344.html

Or if you prefer to listen to the interview, here is the link:

http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/gf/gf140308guerrilla_tacos_avoc

If 4 out of 5 avocados that are imported into the US are from the area where the Mexican mafia is extorting ALL of the growers, packers, etc., that doesn't leave many "clean" avocados out there - basically what is grown in California. It's disheartening that we have to expand the ethics of food conversation beyond the meat/dairy/egg industry to produce. This brings to mind the expose Gourmet magazine did several years ago on the tomato slave trade in Florida. It makes our food choices tougher and tougher.

[Robin Garr]

Sadly, that story is behind a pay wall, and most of the other Google hits that result from a search on the headline lead only to brief links. Here's one version that lets the gist of the story out into daylight, though.

http://www.nationalreview.com/feed/3701 ... -pollowitz

Sadly, that story is behind a pay wall, and most of the other Google hits that result from a search on the headline lead only to brief links. Here's one version that lets the gist of the story out into daylight, though.

http://www.nationalreview.com/feed/3701 ... -pollowitz

Try the link to the article from the link on the KCRW website - I had no problem viewing it and didn't have to pay. Strange.

Just tried the link again from the website and now the pay wall is up. ARGH - they are on to me!

Oh well, the interview is only approx 8 min long, if you have time to listen to the clip.

[Robin Garr]

Try the link to the article from the link on the KCRW website - I had no problem viewing it and didn't have to pay. Strange.

Oh, thanks, Joy! I was talking about the printed version. I didn't try the video because I really prefer to go for the print edition, which takes about 1/10 as much time out of my life as listening to/watching an interview.

Well, that's disturbing, sure enough...but if we wanted to get ginned up over fruit and ethical situations, we probably shouldn't started doing so in earnest back in the 1800s and 1900s---say, with lovely folks like United Fruit and Dole, in places like Cuba and Mexico and Hawaii...pretty much everwhere they went actually.

Some of the imperial attitude married with 'unfettered capitalism' made for some truly appalling horror stories over the years. Mexican mafia ain't got nothing on them.

[Jenise]

KCRW is the greatest radio station in America. There's not much I miss about moving away from Los Angeles, but being able to get KCRW on my car radio is one of them. From the food shows to Harry Shearer (Man Bites Town) to Morning Becomes Eclectic...but I digressed. Thanks for the link, I'll take a look.