Guacamole is one of my favorite dips. Though did you know, that despite being completely vegan (so eating greener plus points for that), avocados often come with a high environmental cost.
The health benefits of eating avocados are well known. They are packed full of healthy monounsaturated fats (the same as those found in olive oil and nuts), and benefits are reported to include lowering-levels of obesity, preventing diabetes, high blood pressure, and lowering cholesterol levels.
Unfortunately, these benefits of avocado consumption do not come without a cost. The environmental and social costs of over-consumption of avocados are well known.
Most of the avocados grown in the US come from California, Florida and Hawaii. However, since the current American obsession with avocados the local producers are no longer able to keep up with the demand, meaning that today, the vast majority of the avocados we eat come from other countries, primarily from Mexico.
This means a larger carbon footprint, and potentially other environmental and social issues including deforestation and worker exploitation.
Now avocados are available at the grocery store year-round, but they are actually a seasonal fruit. Avocado season starts in March and ends in late July in California. If you buy avocado outside of this range, there is a good chance that you are buying an avocado from another country.
A good place to buy avocados is at your local farmers market. There you can talk to the growers and ensure that you are actually buying a locally and responsibly grown avocado.
Once you have your sustainable avocados, it is time to whip up some guacamole. This is the recipe for our family favorite:
Absolute Best Guacamole
Ingredients
- 4 Avocados
- 1/2 fresh green chili
- 1/2 red onion
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 large fresh tomato
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Thinly slice the fresh green chili, finely dice the red onion. Juice the lime.
- Cut the avocados in half and scoop out the flesh into a bowl.
- Add the chili and red onion, half the lime juice and a pinch of salt to the avocado and mash together with the avocado with a fork.
- When the ingredients are well combined, taste the guacamole, and add more salt and/or lime juice to taste.
Notes
- Always choose locally grown seasonal avocados.