WASHINGTON— More than 25 organizations urged the U.S. State Department today to stop imports of avocados linked to recent deforestation in Mexico. Most of the deforestation is happening illegally, some imperils monarch butterfly habitat, and it all undermines international pledges made by both countries to halt deforestation.

An estimated 10 football fields of forest in Mexico are cleared every day to create avocado plantations, today’s letter notes. Mexico is the largest U.S. supplier of avocados, referred to as “green gold,” providing almost 90% of the fruit sold in the United States in 2018. Mexico is rapidly losing native forests in several states to the avocado industry. These areas include key winter habitat for monarch butterflies.

“U.S. avocado imports are fueling deforestation just when we desperately need intact forests to fight the biodiversity and climate crises,” said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Most people in the United States would be horrified to learn that their avocado toast and Super Bowl and Cinco de Mayo parties come at such a devastating cost to monarchs and forests. Halting imports of avocados from recently deforested areas would help protect Mexico’s wildlife and uphold our global forest-protection pledges.”

Avocados are a water-intensive crop, and meeting irrigation demand depletes water sources for local communities and leaves remaining native forests vulnerable to fire and disease.

Today’s letter details not just the illegal deforestation that’s creating new avocado plantations but also threats to government inspectors as well as violence against local community members who oppose deforestation.

“Forests, monarchs and local communities will fare a lot better if we curb avocado imports from recently deforested land,” said Sanerib. “We shouldn’t be purchasing and promoting products linked to illegal activity. Instead, we need a system that rewards law-abiding avocado growers with access to the U.S. market while shutting out bad actors.”

Many Mexican growers have created legal, long-standing avocado farms that could continue to supply the United States if avocados from recently deforested lands are banned.

Stopping imports of harmful avocados would aid monarch butterflies, which desperately need protection. This year’s overwintering monarch population was the second-lowest ever recorded, and the population is only a sixth of the size scientists say is needed to avoid migratory collapse. Monarchs are currently a candidate species for U.S. Endangered Species Act protection.