Our obsession with avocado toast has gotten some Latin American populations into a real pickle – but there’s still hope for your favorite high-fat snack.

In the Apurimac region of Peru, villagers have learned to capitalize on our obsession with the fruit to cultivate high-margin, sustainable avocados and eke out a living for themselves in the process.

The Avocado Dilemma

Avocado has usurped kale as the top trendy health food in America – and that’s not necessarily a good thing. In Mexico, where about 40 percent of the world’s avocados are produced, growers have been cutting down acres worth of natural forests (the Independent notes that deforestation is growing at a pace of 2.5 percent per year) to keep up with the demand for avocado toast, avocado boats, and avocado everything else.

It’s no surprise that this mass deforestation has led to a number of problems, including a lack of biodiversity in the region, fumigation that has wrecked havoc on the health of locals, who are experiencing more and more breathing and stomach problems, according to the Independent, and even increased narcoterrorism linked to the money-making crop.

While these issues are certainly dire in Mexico, shoppers who opt for another provenance aren’t necessarily off the hook.

“The fact of the matter is that we know pitifully little about the environmental and working conditions of faceless people in faraway places who grow fruit for our tables,” reports the Guardian.

Some opt, instead, to buy local, but while California is rising to the occasion, producing  164,000 tons of the fruit (over 80 percent of total production in the U.S.), the effect of this crop on the already dry state is not the most environmentally friendly, and recent drought conditions have even led to an avocado shortage.

There are two solutions to this very real problem. The first is to cut back on avocado consumption, for example by subbing a tasty pea mash in for your regular avocado toast.

But cutting back doesn’t mean that we have to say goodbye to avocados forever — it just means that when we do choose the fruit, we need to choose fair trade avocados from reliable sources.

Choosing Sustainable Avocado Toast

Candelaria Pillaca hails from Apurimac, a region of south-central Peru. She had long been cultivating traditional regional crops such as corn, kiwicha, and beans when she learned about World Neighbors, a savings and credit program that not only would allow her to take out small loans to purchase and plant avocado trees but would also provide her with instruction in organic fertilization, water conservation, and basic accounting.

Five years later, Pillaca is supporting her family with her avocado plantation, adding $3,000 to her yearly income, a substantial amount that allows her to help support two of her children who attend university.

By adding avocados to her small, one-and-a-half hectare farm, Pillaca has created a sustainable way to produce the in-demand fruit. She is a strong proponent of agro ecology, incorporating drip irrigation and crop diversification into her farm and using organic fertilizers produced on her own land from animal waste and compost.

Perhaps most importantly, Pillaca is not contributing to widespread deforestation problems, but rather integrating avocados into an already diverse farm.

“The problem of deforestation may happen when practicing large scale of avocado planting and not integrating them with other tropical fruits,” says Pillaca.

“I didn’t have to cut down trees to plant avocados.”

Related on EcoSalon
3 Environmental Benefits of Farming You Probably Didn’t Realize
Care About Sustainable Food? Start Thinking About Soil: Foodie Underground
Growing the Cold Chain: An Essential Key to Reducing Food Waste

The post Your Avocado Toast Habit is (Probably) Unsustainable, But That’s About to Change appeared first on EcoSalon.

For the nature lover, trendy Los Cabos, Mexico can offer a pleasant surprise.

Cabo San Lucas, located at the very south of the Baja peninsula in Mexico in the municipality of Los Cabos, is rarely associated with anything prefaced by the word “eco.” However, going there last month, we discovered there are plenty of things for a conscious nature lover to do while visiting this popular resort town.

image: Johanna Björk

For ocean lovers, a combined kayaking and snorkel tour is a must. Cabo Outfitters is a tour company run by a couple named Stacey and Casey. In addition to snorkeling and kayaking, they also offer a wide range of other tours.

image: Johanna Björk

The full-day tour to Cabo Pulmo, a national marine park, was once referred to by famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau as “the aquarium of the world.” It’s the location of the oldest of only three coral reefs on the west coast of North America and the northernmost coral reef in the eastern Pacific. Cabo Pulmo also has the largest variety of species of underwater life in the entire Los Cabos area.

images: Johanna Björk

If you don’t want to spend an entire day exploring the ocean, Cabo Outfitters 3 Bay Tour takes place right along the tourist corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. As the name suggests, you kayak to three different bays on the Sea of Cortez, stopping to snorkel in two places. I was pleasantly surprised to see more beautiful fish and marine life than I ever had snorkeling in other places. At the end of the tour, you end up at Chileno, a tranquil white sand beach frequented by the locals.

image: Johanna Björk

We did a short bonus stop at a rocky beach in one of the bays and, as we were standing there, two giant humpbacks started jumping out of the water a few miles out to sea. Even though they were far away, it was a mighty sight.

images: Johanna Björk

I was lucky to be there at the beginning of whale season — which runs from January to early April — when the whales migrate down from Alaska and stay for a few months to have their babies. Inspired by our whale sighting on the kayak tour, we decided to go on a whale watching tour. Luis of Baja Wild can tailor any kind of tour experience in Los Cabos, and took us out to look for whales.

images: Johanna Björk

Although we did not get to witness another tandem jump, we saw a few humpbacks up close, got some tail fin action and even saw a newborn whale with its mother. On the way back to shore, many whale watching tours take you by the famous arch that you see in all the postcards, so you can scratch that off the must-see list and save a water taxi trip.

image: Flora Farms

When people refer to Los Cabos, this also includes, San Jose del Cabo, a smaller town located about a 30-40 minute car ride from Cabo San Lucas. If you go, a visit to Flora Farms is a must. This ten-acre organic farm, nestled in the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains, has an on-site restaurant, bar and grocery. Working the soil, largely by hand, Flora Farms has been growing food without using pesticides or GMO seeds for ten years.

image: Flora Farms

After founding a local farmers market on the farm, 100 percent of the produce is now dedicated to local consumption through Flora’s Field Kitchen, Flora’s Grocery and the Culinary Cottage owners. That’s right, if you find yourself loving Mexican farm life so much you never want to leave, you don’t have to — the perfectly rustic, charming Culinary Cottages are available for rent or purchase.

image: Flora Farms

Just 8 miles north of Cabo San Lucas, Carisuva Ranch is a typical Baja Californian ranch with horses, goats, chickens, donkeys and cows as well and a fresh water well and a traditional desert hut. Their mission is to “educate through contemplation, interaction and understanding of the importance of preserving all ecosystems.”

image: Carisuva Ranch

The tranquil, off-beaten-path environs offer plenty of opportunity for relaxation, and the best way to truly commune with nature here is to go horseback riding. The sunset tour lets you discover spectacular ocean side cliffs, lush desert ranges, and private untouched beaches on horseback. At the end, you will get to enjoy a peaceful sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

image: Carisuva Ranch

Contemplating the incredible beauty of nature, it makes me even more motivated than ever to do my part to ensure that future generations will get to enjoy it like we can.

top image: Johanna Björk

The post The Conscious, Nature-Lover’s Guide to Los Cabos, Mexico appeared first on EcoSalon.

EcoCasitas on the idyllic beach at Playa Viva near Zihuatanejo, Mexico.

Mexico’s Pacific Coast has some truly gaudy resorts, e.g. Acapulco with its endless avenues of homogenous high-rise resorts, lobster-pink package tourists and neon-lit taco restaurants.

Move up the coast a few miles, however, and you’ll find paradisiacal places like this: a 200-acre nature reserve with prehistoric-looking huts that fit perfectly into their setting. Playa Viva (meaning: “Living Beach”) is an eco-resort set in lush greenery overlooking an unspoiled beach.

Sleep in thatched wooden beach houses built from sustainable local woods (roofing material is harvested on the property). The beach houses are open to the elements so you can hear the waves, smell the sea and feel the breeze.

It all has an earthy, natural feel, with locally-crafted taps, furniture and plates. Electricity is provided by solar energy, and water is also heated using the power of the sun. Even the bed linen – handmade wool blankets and organic cotton sheets and towels – is sourced within Mexico.

Accommodation options are studios (sleeps two), EcoCasitas (sleeps three), deluxe suites or Private Casitas (sleep four); all have sea views and the larger ones have porches. The common area has a yoga deck, and there’s an outdoor movie theater; the internet connection is not fast  but you’re here to step off the treadmill, remember. Good thing there’s always a masseur around.

Food is mostly organic, including home-grown vegetables, an “edible landscape” grown using permaculture techniques. Typical dishes include sopes (tortilla with beans and vegetables), red snapper and healthy snacks like paletas (fresh fruit popsicles). For later in the evening sip basil margaritas and dessert on tarte tatin (one of the chefs is French).

Rates from $195 per night, not including tax, but with yoga classes six mornings a week, and copious turtle and whale-viewing opportunities.

Photos: Playa Viva

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

The post Places & Spaces: Playa Viva, Mexico appeared first on EcoSalon.

Seeing a love of the water on land.

Art, sand and the sea come together in this short by Red Reel Video, as they follow artist Alejandro Gonzalez through his work in Baja, Mexico, bringing the wonders of the ocean to the surface.

Drawings on the Wall from RED REEL on Vimeo.

The post Video: Drawings on the Wall appeared first on EcoSalon.

Putting a spin on the classic Mexican street food.

If you don’t have a taco obsession, you’re doing something wrong in the kitchen. Quick and simple, and also versatile for a variety of dietary preferences, tacos are one of the easiest dishes to get creative with. Here are three supercharged, healthy variations on the taco theme to get the culinary juices flowing and please any kind of eater, from vegans to pescatarians.

Note: All of these recipes make 4-6 tacos, are completely interchangeable with whatever protein you want to throw in, and should be served on warm corn tortillas.

Cornmeal Crusted Fish Tacos with Roasted Radicchio and Pineapple

Cornmeal is an easy way to get a crunchy taste to fish tacos without deep-frying. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of Pacific Halibut, Wild Caught (you can use any other whitefish, but make sure you’re going with a sustainable option), cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 cup chopped pineapple
• 1 cup chopped radicchio
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 avocado, chopped into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil for frying

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.

Mix cornmeal and spices in a bowl. Add in fish and mix until fish is well coated.

In a separate bowl, combine radicchio, pineapple and lime juice. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast for 5-10 minutes.

While radicchio and pineapple are in oven, fry the fish at medium/high heat. About 4-6 minutes.

Layer fish, radicchio and pineapple onto corn tortillas and garnish with avocado.

Vegetarian Kale and Portobello Tacos with Goat Cheese

Inspired by a trip to Mexico, these vegetarian tacos are total foodie pleasers.

Ingredients

• 2 portobello mushrooms, cut into strips
• 6 stalks of red kale, cut into small pieces
• 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Goat cheese for garnish

Directions:

Place portobello strips in a bowl and pour over balsamic vinegar. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.

In a frying pan, saute mushrooms until they are soft, about 3 minutes. Add in kale and cook until tender.

Vegan Tacos with Red Cabbage and Avocado Slaw

Ideal with tempeh, or any protein of your choice, this slaw brings a fresh taste to your tacos.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of large cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 avocado, chopped into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions:

Combine olive oil, cider vinegar, vinegar, salt, pepper and lemon juice and mix thoroughly.

In a bowl, mix together cabbage and avocado. Drizzle over dressing and gently toss.

Use with tempeh tacos or other protein of your choice.

Images: Anna Brones

The post Three Healthy Taco Variations You Can’t Live Without appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnTravel lessons: Good food, from good places, with good people.

Only one day into a trip to Baja, Mexico, and my friend Megan and I had come up with our official “Taco Challenge.” (Because when you travel, you should always have a challenge.) This one involved eating at least one taco every day. Three days into the trip, and not only did we have another fellow traveler on board with the Taco Challenge, we were developing a full-blown taco ranking system. Based on a scale from 1 to 5, the taco eater was required to rate both the taco and the ambiance of where it was consumed. Such are the challenges when eating while traveling.

Travel and food go hand in hand. Why do you think there are so many destination specific foods topping the trend lists for 2012? Because food in itself is a form of travel, letting us explore no matter if we’re in the country of the food’s origin or thousands of miles away.

So let’s get back to Mexico.

The best tacos, as most anyone will tell you, are to be found at the simplest taquerias. Concrete floors, open walls, maybe even a grapefruit tree planted in the middle. There may be a TV in the background with a Spanish speaking sports announcer. Near the kitchen a man in an apron may be cutting charred pieces of pastor from the large vertical spit. There will be a centerpiece of freshly sliced cucumber and several bowls of salsa, and if you’re really lucky, you’ll even have a full toppings bar to choose from; Pickled onions, guacamole, cilantro, four kinds of salsa and fresh cabbage are standard. At this point, it’s impossible not to eat well.

When you travel, food can be best when it’s at its simplest form. Take away the stars, the fancy menus, and fancy décor and what are you left with? Food. Food that represents a local community and culture. So you forget about words like “organic” and “local” and “artisan,” because when it comes down to it, what’s on the plate in front of you represents something beyond that.

Later, we drive along the Pacific, and in between a taqueria and the beach, there is a basil farm. In an otherwise arid landscape with prickly cacti and desert rocks, there are also pockets of lush, verdant, farmland. The smell of basil seeps through the open car windows. There is an instant feel of being better connected to the land where food comes from. At home, the smell of basil is reserved for studio apartment windows and farmers markets. Here it’s simply part of the air.

But even Baja has an organic market. A glorious spread of food, art and music, tucked into a corner of San Jose del Cabo every single Saturday Market. There’s even artisan cheese at Mercado Organico, along with homemade bread and fresh vegetables in wooden crates.

And the organic portabello tacos, covered with a layer of herbs and cheese and grilled right in front of us? They get a 5.

There is an ongoing debate about the value of organic. Where does your organic come from? Because a farm doesn’t have the resources to get organic certification, does that mean their produce isn’t as good as the larger scale farm that’s mass producing organic lettuce? When we focus on simply one element of food we forget about all the rest: who grew it, how it was grown, where it was grown. Blindly choosing certified organic is a sign of not truly thinking about what we eat. It’s just as bad as choosing a restaurant simply because they serve up figs wrapped in bacon and pour their bourbon drinks into a mason jar.

Choosing food because you know where it comes from, and that it was made with intention, and not because the latest hip food blog told you to eat it is a different story. A quesadilla grilled on the beach, made with fresh tortillas and cheese beats an organic wheatgrass smoothie from the trustafarian owned juice shop any day. And a restaurant doesn’t have to be fancy, it just needs to serve up fresh food with a community feel. That’s the reminder we get when we travel, and the ideal that we should all embrace when it comes to food we make and eat at home.

Good food, from good places, with good people – if we can make that a 2012 food trend, we’ll be doing well. With or without tacos.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: Travel and Tacos appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Tubohotel in Mexico features salvaged concrete tubes as sleeping spaces.

If a cast-off, concrete tube measuring six by nine feet sounds like a cozy space rather than a claustrophobic one, then the Tubohotel is for you. Located in the artistic Pueblo Magico of Tepoztlan (it’s also one of the safest towns south of the border), in the mountains near Mexico City, this camp offers the chance to sleep in a two-story tube community set in an organic orchard. It was founded by bubbly celebrity chef Ana Garcia (the Mexican Rachael Ray), who offers culinary courses in her hacienda nearby.

Shaded by organic lime, avocado and guava trees, each of the 20 units are shielded from peeping tubists by curtains over its circular glass window/door. The tubes don’t come equipped with TVs, chairs, or “facilities,” but the trade off is you get to stay somewhere totally far-out and original.

Thanks to the thermic qualities of the concrete, tubes maintain their temperatures day and night.

Rates from $37, including tax and a fully rounded experience.

Photos: Tubohotel

The post Places & Spaces: Tubohotel, Mexico appeared first on EcoSalon.

North America’s beauty spreads from sea to shining sea.

When wanderlust strikes, there’s the tendency to picture oneself overseas. My personal fantasies bring me to deserts in Morocco, beaches in Goa, hole-in-the-wall salsa clubs in Havana. I tend to forget the bounty of natural beauty that exists right here in North America. These pictures showcase the stunning vistas, cultural relics, and breathtaking natural phenomena that exist right at our front doors, or at least within a few hours drive.

(above) Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA

San Jose del Cabo, Baja California, Mexico

White Sands, New Mexico, USA

Washington, D.C., USA

Venice Beach, California, USA

Crater Lake, Oregon, USA

Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, White Water, California, USA

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Banff National Park, Canada

Coyote Butte North, Arizona, USA

Henkel, Colorado, USA

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Kent, Washington, USA 

Pagosa Valley, Colorado, USA

Lackawanna State Forest, Pennsylvania, USA

San Francisco, California, USA

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Santa Cruz, California, USA

Galveston, Texas, USA

Cape Elizabeth, Maine, USA

Bitterroot Mountains, Montana, USA

Cimarron National Grassland, Kansas, USA

Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

U.S. Route 66, Arizona, USA

Mule Canyon, Colorado, USA

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Everglades, Florida, USA

Sequoia National Park, California, USA

Anne’s Beach, Florida Keys, USA

South Dakota, USA

Quechee, Vermont, USA

Riverwood Park, Mississauga, Canada

St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Bountiful, Utah, USA

Big Moose Lake, New York, USA

New York, New York, USA

Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, USA

ALSO CHECK OUT:

40 Gorgeous Photos Of Asia

40 Gorgeous Photos of Europe

25 Photos of Islands Threatened By Climate Change

40 Gorgeous Photos of Latin America

The post 40 Gorgeous Photos of North America appeared first on EcoSalon.

“A week without your computer, are you going to be okay?”

I raised my eyebrows and shook my head; sometimes people just don’t get it. Yes, I was about to take off and leave my computer sitting right where it deserved to sit: on my desk. No, I was not going to live-tweet about my trip or post pictures on Facebook. I was going to take six whole days off from the technical world, not even my cell phone was going to get turned on, and I was going to be just fine.

A New York Times article that I read almost a year ago has stuck with me, and I’ve cited it in several conversations regarding our inability to truly disconnect. Titled “On Vacation and Looking For WiFi,” the central topic hits a little too close to home, but raises an important point: we have created a society where we are so connected that we have practically made it impossible to ever truly pull ourselves away.

Five years ago, in Barbados, none of us consulted a computer. Three years ago, in Costa Rica, a few family members walked to an Internet cafe and checked our e-mail one afternoon just for the novelty of being online in a faraway place.

This year I stood in a long line in the lobby of this resort in the Dominican Republic, to wait my turn to sign up for 25 hours of Internet service for $25. Several family members brought laptops and we checked our work email daily.

It’s not about keeping in touch with what’s going on; no matter where you are in the world you probably have access to a newspaper, even if it’s a few days old. The fear of disconnecting stems from our need to be in control. What if an important email comes in while we’re out and we don’t get to it? What if the person needs an immediate response?

Well, what if? We’ve somehow traded our ability to trust that other people can handle themselves, answer their own questions, and even learn to wait if they can’t get an immediate response for the false sense of security that comes from thinking that we can always be in control.

Two days into a week-long stay in Mexico and those questions seemed very far away. Insignificant even.

Little did I know that while I was contemplating how unimportant all the stuff I had left really was, the document I had diligently prepared for my business partner and emailed to her at 1 a.m. – a document which included all that needed to be done while I was out – was in fact the wrong one. An attempt at making myself feel in control, yet slightly failing in the process. But, like any sound, intelligent human being, she called my neighbor, got let into my apartment and sent the document to herself from my computer. Smart woman.

Meanwhile – my everyday virtual duties switched for overlooking the ocean – I wrote in my journal:

Disconnecting. A whole week of it. And what does it remind me? That most of what we do isn’t that important. The constant updates, the information overload. In the end, we can turn it all off. In fact, it’s easier than we lead ourselves to believe.

So what can’t we turn off? Feelings, emotions, creativity… those the the things that are always there, often impended by our everyday routine that we deem necessary.

It’s easy to overlook the things that make us feel alive, to quickly get out of balance. But in taking time to slow down, we remember how to find that balance.

We can’t give up our jobs and we can’t give up email. To be an active citizen, we have to be educated, so we can’t give up consuming information. I would never argue for any of the above. But we can take time to assess how much of all of these things is healthy.

We can take time to focus on the slower activities that cultivate our friendships, our emotions and our creativity. Drawing, writing, traveling, walking, cooking, talking, sitting, thinking – all those good things that we often put into the “quality of life” category.

And as for that creative inspiration that only comes when I myself truly disconnect? Here are some Mexico photos.

Images: Anna Brones

The post No Ifs or Buts About It: Why We Have to Disconnect appeared first on EcoSalon.

I’m nomadic by nature but strive to travel for a purpose. Writing and taking pictures as a job blurs the line between work and play, but still, I tend to stay busy in far away places. By contrast, this last week in Mexico was down time. Me time. As it turns out, learning time.

I was there for a very small wedding of two good friends, in a tiny town of old homes and a few fancy houses built by California surfers.

It felt a bit ironic, as a decade-long relationship of mine recently came to a close. What I did not anticipate about this trip was how much time I’d spend in my head meditating on life and work and how love might function within it. When the water was clean, I surfed, forgetting my thoughts. But when I wasn’t surfing, I had a lot of time to think, mostly in a hammock staring at the ocean. It was hard; tearful at times. Not because I was watching new love pledge togetherness, but more because I was thinking about a past love. Far away, even with such vast space and peace, you still can’t always find the answers. Sometimes there simply aren’t any.

Love makes you think about dying alone. Silent breakfasts on Sunday morning. What you’re going to give in this life and what this life is going to give, in return, to you.

It’s complex for a wanderer like me; I’d need someone who shares my lust for adventure, my love for empirical experiences that challenge the very foundation of what we think we know about human nature. My mother tells me that I have to drop ‘I am what I do’, but I can’t. When the dust settles, all you really are is the sum total of your deeds in life. I believe nature really is that simple.

At the crux of this, for me, is a lifelong goal to sail around the world and document the cultures and people I meet. It’s something I’m currently doing. I’d love to share it with someone, a friend who shares my endless love of and fascination for the ocean. Isn’t that what we all want? These kinds of connections are rare, but sometimes you find them when you choose to take the offbeat path of your heart. You find others like yourself, who have committed to a life less ordinary. This is my tribe.

And we learn, too, that it is possible to love someone thoroughly yet realize that togetherness simply isn’t going to work. Paths cross, and lives connect, but our tribes pull.

Mexico, your hammocks and salty breezes brought me back to my true self. And sometimes losing love is a necessary step towards the path to personal discovery. And that’s a brutal fact.

The post My Heart, In the Heart of Mexico appeared first on EcoSalon.