Organic Consumers Association, with Richman Law & Policy, sue West Pak Avocado and Fresh Del Monte Produce Over Misleading Sustainability and Responsibly Sourced Marketing Claims that Obscure Illegal Deforestation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2024 – Washington, D.C. – Organic Consumers Association and Richman Law & Policy filed separate complaints against West Pak Avocado and Fresh Del Monte Produce on August 2, 2024, in the District of Columbia Superior Court. The complaints alleges that both avocado importers, in violation of the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act, deceptively market their avocados as “sustainable” and “responsibly sourced” when they are in reality driving deforestation in the Mexican states of Michoacán and Jalisco, where all Mexican avocados sold in the United States are exported from.
West Pak Avocado, the complaint alleges, misleads consumers by claiming that it is “committed to growing avocados without forest clearing,” and that its mission is to bring “sustainably, and responsibly sourced avocados to consumers.”
West Pak claims to be the “trusted leader in avocados,” and represents on its website that it “work[s] hard to ensure [its] avocados are, grown, processed, and delivered safely, fairly, and responsibly . . . [and its] respect for people and nature enables [the] company to grow and prosper over the long term in harmony with the needs of communities and ecosystems.”
Despite these claims, Mexican government shipping records and satellite imagery indicate that West Pak sources its avocados from multiple orchards grown on illegally deforested land in Michoacán. For example, , the satellite images below illustrate that one of the orchards from which West Pak sourced avocados in 2022 was covered with native forest in 2015.
Del Monte, the complaint alleges, misleads consumers by claiming that its products, including its avocados, are sourced responsibly and sustainably and that its growers “implement the best practices that protect the environment.”
Del Monte claims on its website that “sustainability isn’t just a word, it’s woven into every fiber of our business” and that its “business is built on agriculture and ecosystems thriving together.” Despite these claims, Mexican government shipping records and satellite imagery indicate that Del Monte sources its avocados from multiple orchards grown on deforested land in Michoacán. For example, the satellite images below illustrate that one of the orchards from which Del Monte sourced avocados in 2022 was covered with native forest in 2011.
Avocado orchards accounted for about one-fifth of the deforestation in Michoacán and neighboring Jalisco between 2001 and 2017. This deforestation impacts the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Pine-Oak Forests ecoregion. Most famous for being the winter nesting grounds of the monarch butterfly, it is also home to rare birds, amphibians and reptiles, as well as 50 percent of Mexico’s unique mammal species.
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