Why do we love it?
Besides its buttery texture and very mild taste, the avocado is packed with nutritional benefits. It is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids which lower bad cholesterol levels. Another advantage: it reduces the feeling of hunger. These qualities have caused its consumption to explode (+ 65% in Europe, between 2016 and 2018), and… its poor environmental and social record.
In Mexico, the world's largest producer, the growing demand has caught the attention of drug cartels always looking for new sources of profit. They now preempt entire territories for its cultivation, dislodging the peasants. To this must be added the use of pesticides and transport from America to Europe, which further increase the carbon footprint of the avocado.
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Our recipe Poke bowl veggie avocado and soba noodles
<p>Avocado, carrots, young sunflower shoots... Healthy and replenishing as much as possible.</p>
<p><a href="https://madame.lefigaro.fr/recipes/poke-bowl-veggie-avocado-and-noodles-... the recipe for the veggie poke bowl avocado and soba noodles</a>. </p>
Emilie Gaillet
Can we buy it with our eyes closed?
Certainly not !
As Vincent Jouault, fruit and vegetable buyer at Terroirs d'avenir, a greengrocer renowned for its sourcing, points out, you have to take an interest in its origin.
“The avocado must be produced as close as possible to its place of consumption and in irreproachable social conditions,” he explains.
At Terroirs d'Avenir, we work with three independent producers in Sicily.
We also collaborate with a small producer near Perpignan – a rose grower who supplies us with exceptional citrus fruits – and a cooperative in Corsica, also primarily renowned for its citrus fruits.
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Proximity makes it possible to reduce transport, but also to pick the avocados at maturity, so that they reach the consumer just in time.
This quality and the certainty that those who worked on the production are properly compensated has a price.
At Terroirs d'Avenir, an avocado costs around 9 euros per kilo.
The opportunity to start eating less… but better.
In video, which fruits and vegetables contain the least pesticides
And consume it all year round?
Avoid… The avocado is consumed from October to April.
From October to December, the Bacon and Fuerte varieties are preferred.
“Bacon has a smooth, green skin, a creamy, firm flesh.
The Fuerte is also green, but over time its skin turns purplish.
Its creamy flesh with a pale yellow hue is ideal for guacamole,” explains Vincent Jouault.
From December to April, we choose the Hass, with its green skin that evolves towards black.
Like Bacon, it is creamy and firm.
His particuliarity ?
Notes of hazelnuts.
“I'm sure that, under the impetus of committed grocers and greengrocers who have already started educational work, people will understand that the avocado, like the tomato, is seasonal, insists Vincent Jouault.
And they will adopt more durable reflexes.
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