Experts are now concerned that chemicals used in the orchards could be behind illnesses afflicting the local population. “The sneezing doesn't stop when they are fumigating,” said Carmona, a stocky 36-year-old mother of two who works at a small grocery store in Jujucato, a village in the heart of avocado land.
In the 15 years that Salvador Sales has been teaching in Jujucato, he has seen his students come down with more and more breathing and stomach problems.
“We believe this is caused by the products used to spray the avocado orchards,” said Sales, who believes that the wind blows the chemical fumes into the homes of his students.
About 40 percent of the world's avocados are grown in Mexico, and most of those come from the area around Jujucato and Lake Zirahuen. Avocados occupy some 137,000 hectares (340,000 acres) of land in Michoacan, according to state government figures. Deforestation is growing at a pace of 2.5 per cent per year, according to Gira.
One lakeside village asked researchers for help when residents began to suffer from liver and kidney problems that did not exist until “the avocado orchards expanded and all types of pesticides were used,” Gomez Tagle said.
Since August, authorities have recovered 100 hectares of land and detained dozens of people working in fields that had invaded forests.
A label is being created for avocados sold in stores so that consumers can identify those from orchards that don't harm the environment.
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