When it becomes as black as Darth Vader, we tend to throw it in the trash! However, you can still eat the avocado even when its skin is ripening. In an effort to reduce waste, the University of California worked for half a century on a new variety. She leaves no room for doubt as to her maturity thanks to the color of her skin.
Avocado production is an ecological disaster. Its cultivation requires 1,000 liters of water to obtain only one kilo of fruit. To this heavy energy bill is added that of transport when cargo ships transport tons of avocados carefully confined in an environment maintained at 6°C to prevent ripening. Last summer, Arina Shokouhi, a student at one of London’s prestigious art and design schools, had worked for her end-of-studies project on a rather stunning prototype, reproducing everything we know about an avocado, from its skin to its green flesh using only mashed beans, rapeseed and potatoes. The skin was made of biodegradable wax. Code name: Ecovado.
The environmental issue of avocado cultivation is therefore a well-known reality. However, the cost to the planet of this consumption is worse than what we might think when we include the waste bill. How many times have you bought a hard avocado that ended up in the trash because it got too ripe? One of the keys to lessening the environmental impact of avocado production would be to help consumers better identify when they can eat it. And to do this, the color is the best clue.
NO to diets, YES to WW!
The Luna, a new lawyer
Usually, the variety you add to a poke bowl or spread on an avocado toast is usually the “hass”. Dark in color, it becomes completely black without being rotten. And that’s where the whole problem lies. This dark color encourages many consumers to throw it in the trash, believing it to be completely worn out. In the United States, the University of California (located in the state of the same name where most of the avocados consumed in the country are produced), has just developed a brand new variety. Over the past fifty years, Californian researchers have carried out crosses and tests on thousands of plantations to finally obtain a brand new type of avocado with a green color that leaves no doubt about its immaturity. In its official announcement, the University of Riverside explains: “it is called Luna and offers consumers an excellent flavor, a rind that turns black when ripe and a high post-harvest quality”.
The cultivation of this new variety of avocado is also supposed to be less impactful for the planet. The Luna indeed grows on smaller trees, planted more densely in reduced spaces. Unfortunately, history does not say if this new avocado still needs so much water to grow… The fact remains that it is in the process of being patented and that several dozen producers outside the United States United have already asked to plant it…
Slide: The 10 benefits of avocado
