Avocado farming causing earthquakes and violence in Mexico

According to archeological evidence, people have been eating avocados in Mexico for at least 10,000 years. And the country is still very much partial to the fruits, whether served sliced on a taco, or mashed into guacamole. Indeed, Mexico is responsible for roughly one-third of the world’s avocado production, growing 2.2 million tons in 2018 alone. 

But the country’s avocado industry has caused some unexpected problems, from cartel-related violence to earthquakes.

The alert was raised by the World Economic Forum (WEF), in a report pointing out an anomalous peak of seismic shocks in Michoacán during several periods of 2020. Located in Western Mexico, the state of Michoacán is responsible for 80 percent of the country’s avocado production.

Between January and February of last year, official data shows more than 3,200 seismic movements in the town of Uruapan alone, the center of Mexico’s avocado-growing region.

The WEF analysis put the seismic trends down to the amount of water used to irrigate avocado plantations. The water is directly collected from aquifers — natural underground reservoirs — thus creating huge subterraneous...