Veganism is hurting the devoped world where vegan foods are grown
The number of vegans has increased 160 per cent over the past 10 years, but people need to be asking “where has this food come from” as they fill their shopping baskets with the fruits of the world: pomegranates and mangos from India, lentils from Canada, beans from Brazil, blueberries from the US and goji berries from China. Eating lamb chops that come from a farm a few miles down the road is much better for the environment than eating an avocado that has travelled from the other side of the world.
As we greedily plunder the world’s bread basket, it’s the consumer who benefits, while those at the source can be left high and dry. Take avocados and quinoa, whose prices have been pushed up so much by Western demand that they’ve become unaffordable to those who depend on them in their country of origin
Let’s ‘avo some of that
Kenya – the world’s sixth largest exporter of the fruit – banned exporting avocados on Tuesday because the country’s supply is at risk. The Agriculture and Food Authority says the average price of a 90kg-bag of avocados has reached 2,560 Kenyan shillings (£18), the highest since May 2014. The majority of shortages have been seen in the most popular varieties, fuerte and hass, but across the board Kenya has seen an 18 per cent increase in its export in the past five years, up to 50,000 tons in 2016.
And they’re not the only ones: Australia is also short of the green stuff too, which is causing self-imposed rationing in Queensland as prices have doubled per tray in a year up to A$95 (£54). This shortage has been caused by production being down in Mexico, where the fruit originated, even though production of avocados there has doubled in three years in a bid to remain the global leader of avocado sales.
Back in December Mexico was considering importing avocados, which have been a staple in the country for tens of thousands of years. The country’s economy secretary, Ildefonso Guajardo, said although Mexico now supplies around 45 per cent of the world’s avocados, it wasn’t ruling out importing them for their own consumption. And that’s because the price per kilo is equivalent to the daily minimum wage, 80 pesos (£3). And it’s expected to stay at this level too, causing detrimental effects to those for whom this is a staple.
Now, Mexico makes more money from exporting the stoned fruit than it does from petroleum, and it has become a driving force in illegal deforestation to make way for planting more avocado trees.
Back in 2013 – which the UN dubbed the year of quinoa – prices of the so-called miracle grain of the Andes had reportedly become too expensive for local people to buy. But this grain is a staple part of the region’s diet. The price of the superfood has trebled since 2006 to reach $7 (£5) a kilogram – more expensive than chicken – causing average quinoa consumption in the region to fall in 2014.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...edods-protein-crops-jack-monroe-a8177541.html
veganism leads to deforestation to grow more vegan foods
The number of vegans has increased 160 per cent over the past 10 years, but people need to be asking “where has this food come from” as they fill their shopping baskets with the fruits of the world: pomegranates and mangos from India, lentils from Canada, beans from Brazil, blueberries from the US and goji berries from China. Eating lamb chops that come from a farm a few miles down the road is much better for the environment than eating an avocado that has travelled from the other side of the world.
As we greedily plunder the world’s bread basket, it’s the consumer who benefits, while those at the source can be left high and dry. Take avocados and quinoa, whose prices have been pushed up so much by Western demand that they’ve become unaffordable to those who depend on them in their country of origin
Let’s ‘avo some of that
Kenya – the world’s sixth largest exporter of the fruit – banned exporting avocados on Tuesday because the country’s supply is at risk. The Agriculture and Food Authority says the average price of a 90kg-bag of avocados has reached 2,560 Kenyan shillings (£18), the highest since May 2014. The majority of shortages have been seen in the most popular varieties, fuerte and hass, but across the board Kenya has seen an 18 per cent increase in its export in the past five years, up to 50,000 tons in 2016.
And they’re not the only ones: Australia is also short of the green stuff too, which is causing self-imposed rationing in Queensland as prices have doubled per tray in a year up to A$95 (£54). This shortage has been caused by production being down in Mexico, where the fruit originated, even though production of avocados there has doubled in three years in a bid to remain the global leader of avocado sales.
Back in December Mexico was considering importing avocados, which have been a staple in the country for tens of thousands of years. The country’s economy secretary, Ildefonso Guajardo, said although Mexico now supplies around 45 per cent of the world’s avocados, it wasn’t ruling out importing them for their own consumption. And that’s because the price per kilo is equivalent to the daily minimum wage, 80 pesos (£3). And it’s expected to stay at this level too, causing detrimental effects to those for whom this is a staple.
Now, Mexico makes more money from exporting the stoned fruit than it does from petroleum, and it has become a driving force in illegal deforestation to make way for planting more avocado trees.
Back in 2013 – which the UN dubbed the year of quinoa – prices of the so-called miracle grain of the Andes had reportedly become too expensive for local people to buy. But this grain is a staple part of the region’s diet. The price of the superfood has trebled since 2006 to reach $7 (£5) a kilogram – more expensive than chicken – causing average quinoa consumption in the region to fall in 2014.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...edods-protein-crops-jack-monroe-a8177541.html
veganism leads to deforestation to grow more vegan foods
