Breakfast with Alan

My thoughts on virtue signalling, avocados, roast dinners and the selective ethics of eating. And a stunning plate that speaks of Spring: burrata, herb oil, lemon and greens

Alan Titchmarsh, fresh from tending his thirsty monoculture lawn and flowerbeds, has turned his attention to what the rest of us should eat. Avocados, he says, should be off the menu for the sake of the planet. They use too much water. They contribute to deforestation. Better, he suggests, to have a bowl of Weetabix.

It’s a neat encapsulation of how we talk about food and ethics these days. Target one single ingredient with bravado and make it the villain of the moment. Never mind the nuances of supply chains or the many more environmentally damaging foods we quietly consume. The avocado has become the ethical fall guy. Again.

Now, I’m not a complete idiot. Avocados are problematic. Some are grown in water-stressed parts of Mexico and Chile, others linked to deforestation. Some are flown across the world. But this isn’t the whole story, and avocados are far from the worst environmental criminals. As Louise Gray writes in Avocado Anxiety (an excellent book, I highly recommend it) the fruit’s fall from grace has as much to do with what it represents than its eco impact. Avocados are Instagenic. Popular. Associated with brunch and wellness and reckless people under 40 who selfishly eat out rather than save money to buy a house. And for that, avocados get the wagging finger.

Everyday staples, meanwhile get a free pass. Chicken, for instance, uses more water per kilo than avocados and produces more carbon. Milk chocolate requires almost ten times the water and has a significantly higher footprint overall. Cheese and eggs both produce more emissions. Beef is in another league altogether (even the organic pasture-fed UK stuff). And yet no one is publicly renouncing roast dinners or fry-ups or Easter eggs.