Thursday, April 4, 2019

The end of guacamole....brought to you by Donald Trump



It's no April Fool's joke.

US will run out of avocados in three weeks if Trump closes Mexico border. (The Guardian, 4/1/2019)
From the avocados on avocado toast, to the limes and tequila in margaritas, the US is heavily reliant on Mexican imports of fruit, vegetables and alcohol to meet consumer demand. 
Nearly half of all imported US vegetables and 40% of imported fruit are grown in Mexico, according to the latest data from the United States Department of Agriculture.   
Avocados would run out in three weeks if imports from Mexico were stopped, said Steve Barnard, president and chief executive of Mission Produce, the largest distributor and grower of avocados in the world. 
“You couldn’t pick a worse time of year because Mexico supplies virtually 100% of the avocados in the US right now. California is just starting and they have a very small crop, but they’re not relevant right now and won’t be for another month or so,” said Barnard..
Related reading:
Trump Vows to Close Border, Even If It Means Hurting the Economy.  (The New York Times, 4/2/2019)
“Closing down the border would have a potentially catastrophic economic impact on our country,” Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said in an interview. “I would hope that we would not be doing that sort of thing.”  

 Maybe you and your GOP colleagues could grow a spine, sir? 

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