Opinion

Your guacamole may be helping Mexican cartels while US farmers pay the price

California's nearly 3,000 avocado growers face competition from Mexican imports produced under extreme security conditions

By Jayme Franklin Fox News

Published August 24, 2026 9:00am EDT

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I was born and raised in California, where avocados weren’t just another item on the grocery list, they were a staple of my everyday diet. Today, not much has changed. My family loves avocados, my daughter asks for them constantly, and as someone who loves to cook, I incorporate them into just about every recipe I can.

But as a mom who believes deeply in the Make America Healthy Again movement, I’ve started thinking differently about the food I put on my family’s table.

MAHA has encouraged millions of Americans to look more closely at ingredient labels, additives and how our food is produced. But I believe the conversation should go one step further: Where does our food come from? Who grows it? Are our agricultural supply chains safe and transparent? And are our purchases supporting American farmers?

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That is why I choose California avocados whenever I can.

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California is home to nearly 3,000 avocado growers who contribute roughly $1.5 billion to the state’s economy each year while supporting thousands of American jobs. Many are family farmers who have spent generations producing one of America’s favorite foods.

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Yet they are increasingly competing against a massive influx of Mexican avocados produced under dramatically different economic and security........

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