October 9th, 2025 - Saving Mexico’s Forests: How an Avocado Certification Plan Could Help

Thousands of acres of Mexico’s forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, driven in large part by U.S. demand for avocados. The lucrative trade has fueled illegal deforestation, drawn in organized crime, and led to violent extortion of growers. Abductions and killings have been reported in the regions hardest hit by the rush to meet American appetites for the fruit.

Traditional enforcement measures have largely failed to curb the destruction, prompting authorities and activists to seek market-based solutions. One such initiative is a certification program for avocado orchards and suppliers, designed to trace where avocados come from and provide near real-time alerts of deforestation. The program also equips authorities with intelligence to act quickly against illegal clearing.

Guillermo Naranjo, a federal environmental inspector in Michoacán—the world’s primary avocado supplier—explains that the initiative marks the first time regulators have reached the level of oversight necessary to actively curb deforestation. Since a U.S. ban on Mexican avocados was lifted in 1997, the industry has grown exponentially, boosting local incomes but leaving a trail of environmental damage in its wake.

Mexican law requires federal permits to convert forest land into orchards, yet no legal documents have been issued in Michoacán since the 1980s. Criminal gangs, landowners, corrupt officials, and community leaders have all played a role in clearing forests illegally. A 2023 report indicated that up to 70,000 acres of forest in Michoacán and Jalisco were cleared over the previous decade to expand avocado production.

In response, Michoacán’s state government partnered with the nonprofit Guardián Forestal to engage major American importers in a voluntary certification program. The system relies on satellite imagery to verify compliance, ensuring packers source avocados only from orchards free of deforestation since 2018 and forest fires since 2012. Orchards pay a certification fee, part of which supports local conservation efforts.

The program has already shown signs of impact. Some avocados meant for U.S. export have been left unharvested in noncompliant orchards, causing frustration among producers but signaling progress toward sustainable practices. While some activists worry the 2018 baseline is too recent to undo decades of environmental harm, others see the program as the first real step toward change.

Despite these efforts, challenges remain. Cartels continue to infiltrate the industry, extorting farmers and profiting from illegal logging. Some growers may attempt to bypass the certification system by sourcing avocados from unsupervised areas. Nevertheless, experts say the program has helped slow deforestation and reduce the financial incentives for clearing forests, offering a hopeful path toward protecting Mexico’s environment while maintaining avocado exports.

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster) - Duress (noun, dur-RESS) - Duress, which is typically used with under, refers to force or threats meant to make someone do something. It is used especially of unlawful coercion.

Example: The defense asserts that the defendant’s confession was made under duress.

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