For:
1. 215 calories per 100 grams, vitamins A, B2, B6, E, potassium, omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. What for? Never mind, the main thing is to be healthy…
2. The all-rounder tastes great as ice cream or with pasta, wrapped in sushi or burritos, flatters the skin as a face mask and looks fancy on socks (Dilly Socks!), record covers (Pearl Jam!) or yoga mats (Pravacana!).
3. The face mask is multifunctional: rubbed with green paste, we dance as aliens at the next costume ball!
4. Slicing up avocados is a surprise for eco-hipsters. A superbasic butter pear with sea salt on dark bread with egg turns hangover into a wellness cure.
5. In the subtropics, where it grows reasonably naturally, avocado is a tasty and nutritious snack. Thanks to climate change, we can soon get our hopes up.
Against:
1. Lactose-allergic low-carb vegans with the term “superfood!” in their vocabulary.
2. Only a fraction of the fruit we sell carries the organic label. The sustainability footprint of mass-produced avocados (in Mexico or Chile, for example)? Underground. Illegally cleared rainforests, gigantic water consumption, long transportation routes, promotion of monoculture… There are actually around 400 varieties, the most popular of which is called Hass. That’s telling, somehow.
3. Ready-made guacamole mixes. Across the board.
4. “Ready to eat” is the promise of stickers on the peel, which then contains rock-hard, tasteless greens. Or a pile of rotten fat.
5. Knife blades that have slipped off during slicing have allegedly already severed entire fingers…