Avocado And Globalization

From 2007 to 2011, avocado production has increased around 20% in the world (Duarte et al. 747). And per the Globalization & the Avocado Supply Chain video, avocado consumption has increased over 1,000 percent in the past 40 years in the United States alone (Osmosis Films). Hence, these statistics show that the fruit which originated in Mexico has become a food that many people have come to enjoy. In the article, “Globalisation as Commodification”, it discusses how commodities become globalized, which can be applied to how avocados have become globalized (Lysandrou). For example, the world economy is growing and becoming globalized because avocados are being shipped from Mexico to all over the world as more and more consumers buy the fruit.

In recent years, our society has been much more concerned about healthy eating and having a healthy lifestyle. The characteristics of the avocado fit into this change of lifestyle in our world. As Rachel Newcomb discusses in her article, cultural changes can occur within a society and these changes can be related to food consumption. For example, she talks about the “…changing social constructions of supposedly “natural” desires for food and sex in China…” (Newcomb 35). However, in North America, the changing social beliefs are of the desires to have a healthy diet and lifestyle. People want to be fit and healthy, hence why the avocado has become a popular food commodity. The avocado can be tied in with how people now view organic food as a form of healthy eating (Rodman et al.). The way organic food is spoken about in Rodman et al.’s article, can be applied to the increasing popularity of avocados: “as the number of messages about the benefits of a healthy diet has increased, so too have messages about risks to health from eating certain foods and food ingredients…” (84). Therefore, because there has been an increasing number of messages that deal with the advantages of having a healthy lifestyle, avocados are getting a lot more recognition. Rodman et al. also say, “consumers hear and are influenced by messages about food through media outlets, in speaking with those in their

Other than that, avocados have never been a staple in my diet. However, over the years, I realized that my avocado intake increased by a lot. I went from only eating avocados when my mom would occasionally put them in salads, to having an avocado every day. Avocados became a staple breakfast food for me that I would put on toast, or I would eat with scrambled eggs. Every week, my mom buys at least 1 bag of avocados, which contains around five to six avocados each. The avocado has become a mainstream fruit that is consumed by many people daily. I believe I started my obsession with avocados after I heard of all the various health benefits it provides. I was inspired and motivated by fitness bloggers who have amazing bodies to start actively participating in a healthy lifestyle. I used to scroll on Instagram and there would be one fitness post, but now almost my whole feed is filled with posts encouraging people to lead a healthier lifestyle by working out and eating right. It is this obsession with having the ideal body that has really shifted society’s values and beliefs. Healthy eating has always been a concern in the world, but now it has been brought to a whole new level with the amount of information we now have access to regarding food items. It is this shift in our cultural that has made foods like the avocado, popular. According to Duarte et al.’s article about avocados, the