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That is what avocado growers in Mexico's Jalisco state mobilized
on Sunday to break the world record for the biggest guacamole, a
whopping 3 tonnes (6,600 lbs) of delicious dip made from "green
gold."
The mass mash-up was part entertainment and part politicking, as
growers and Mexico make the point that they - and the guacamole
loving Americans - have benefited from the North American Free
Trade Agreement that is now under threat from U.S. President
Donald Trump.
Negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the United States were
meeting in the Mexican capital this weekend to revamp the
23-year-old NAFTA accord that Trump has threatened to end if he
does not get concessions to curb a trade deficit with Mexico.
Some 80 percent of U.S. avocado consumption comes from Mexico's
growing expanse of orchards. Jalisco has become the second
biggest producer of the Hass variety in Mexico behind Michoacan
state, according to producers.
More than 600 student chefs and 400 people from the rural town
of Concepcion de Buenos Aires prepared the traditional dish for
thousands people, many of whom came from the Jalisco state
capital of Guadalajara.
The state's governor was on hand to receive recognition from a
representative of the Guinness Book of World Records.
U.S. negotiators have said they want to include provisions to
make it easier for U.S. seasonal produce growers to be able to
file anti-dumping cases against Mexico.
That idea has been criticized by U.S. restaurants and retailers,
who say it would drive up prices.
Mexican growers of the fruit say U.S. production of avocado
could not meet demand.
"The imports of avocados from Mexico have not cost one single
job to the domestic industry [in the United States]," said Ramon
Paz, the spokesman for Michoacan's growers.
(Additional reporting by Adriana Barrera in Mexico City; Editing
by Mary Milliken)
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