Alan Titchmarsh has called on Britons to swap their avocados for a more sustainable breakfast choice – Weetabix.
Titchmarsh, the renowned TV gardener, expressed concern over the environmental impact of avocado consumption, urging a return to traditional breakfast staples like Cornflakes, Weetabix, and Shreddies, in The Times.
Titchmarsh’s primary issue with avocados lies in their production and transportation.
He highlighted the alarming rate of rainforest deforestation to make way for avocado farms, coupled with the extensive distances the fruit travels to reach UK consumers.
"Most of those sold in the UK are grown where the rainforest has been felled at an alarming rate to accommodate them," he said.
He criticised the irony of environmentally conscious consumers choosing a breakfast option with such a significant carbon footprint, stating, "They are then shipped, often more than 5,000 miles across the ocean, as breakfast for supposedly environmentally friendly consumers."
It comes as the United States braces for a rise in avocado prices.
President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on Mexico, one of the world’s largest avocado producers, are expected to drive up costs.
The carbon of an avocado is twice as high as a banana and more than five times higher than an apple.
Worldwide, there are growing concerns about the impact of climate change on the largest avocado-producing countries.
Mexico could see its potential growing area reduced by 31 per cent by 2050 even if the global average temperature rise is limited to under 2C, and as much as 43 per cent if it increases towards 5C, according to a 2024 report from charity Christian Aid.
Just one avocado needs 320 litres of water on average, according to Honor Eldrige, sustainable food expert and author of The Avocado Debate.
“Producing an avocado is therefore becoming increasingly expensive and these costs will likely be passed on to the consumer, raising the price we pay for our guacamole,” she warned.
Dr Chloe Sutcliffe, research fellow in sustainable horticulture at the Royal Horticultural Society, added that the UK currently obtains most of its avocados from Peru and Chile, where water scarcity is already high and expansion of avocado production has compromised access to water for some smallholder farmers.
“It is very likely that the impacts of climate change on water availability will further exacerbate water scarcity issues in these areas,” she said.
