Alan Titchmarsh urges Britons to ditch avocados amid rising costs following Trump's Mexico tariffs
10 March 2025, 05:49
Alan Titchmarsh has urged Britons to choose Cornflakes or Weetabix over avocados as a breakfast in a bid to help save the planet.
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Raising his voice on the issue, the TV gardening expert his backing of cereal over avocados as a morning staple stems from their environmental impact.
"Most of those sold in the UK are grown where the rainforest has been felled at an alarming rate to accommodate them," he said.
"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.
It's the latest appearance from the gardener after his ‘imperialist’ jeans were censored by North Korea last year.
North Korean state TV blurred out the gardening presenter’s trousers when it aired an episode of Garden Secrets that was filmed in 2010.
North Korea’s Central TV made sure viewers could not see Alan’s jeans, which represent western imperialism in the secretive nation.
Speaking with The Times, the TV host added: "There's a lot to be said for Cornflakes, Weetabix and Shreddies."
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% by 2050 even if the global average temperature rise is limited to under 2C, and as much as 43% 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.
