Apparently, the United States will run out of avocados in three weeks if Trump goes through with his proposed border shutdown
It’s no secret that President Donald Trump’s border policy leaves much to be desired—on so many fronts. And now it seems as though his plans may even affect something as simple (yet precious) as our avocados. According to NBC News, on March 29th, Trump threatened to completely shut down the border “if Mexico doesn’t immediately stop ALL immigration.” He made it clear that this could also include trade with Mexico—the U.S.’s third largest trading partner.
Reuters reviewed new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and found that Mexico grows more than 50% of vegetables and 40% of fruits imported to the U.S. This means that if the Trump administration does indeed close the U.S.-Mexico border, Americans would see a lot less variety at the grocery stores. In fact, the U.S. could actually run out of avocados as a result of this policy. Steve Barnard, president and CEO of Mission Produce (one of the largest producer of avocados in the world), told Reuters that if the U.S. stops importing goods from Mexico, it would only take three weeks to run out of avocados—and that sounds horrifying.
America would run out of avocados in three weeks if President Trump shut down the US-Mexico border, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture. https://t.co/OxHxlswszB
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 1, 2019
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Obviously, the consequences of a border shutdown would be far greater than a lack of avocado toast. But this news shows just how much the U.S. depends on Mexico for everyday luxuries and necessities, and highlights how many different industries would be affected by this policy. However, NBC notes that Trump has threatened to close the border before, and that it’s not even clear if he legally can do it…so no need to panic just yet.