Much of the food we eat goes through a pretty incredible journey to get to us.
This is especially true of avocados.
They don't grow just anywhere.
They need tons of sunlight and a ton of rain,
which is why about 3/4 of the world's avocados
come from Mexico,
mostly from the state of Michoacan.
Americans are eating about three times more avocados
than they did almost 20 years ago.
Higher demand is good news for Michoacan,
but when a region booms,
forces often much shadier aim to get in on the action.
And trust me,
that's part of your food's journey too.
CHAIN REACTION
(Michael) Avocados are big business in Mexico.
The state of Michoacan exports the majority of them
to the tune of almost 3 billion dollars a year.
I'm someone that really enjoys avocados.
The people here live off the avocado.
(Michael) Locals call it green gold.
Over the past 20 years, America's obsession with the avocado
has driven industry profits and lifted many people here out of poverty.
Last year, the United States imported
a record-breaking 2.1 billion pounds of the fruit from Mexico.
"The green gold."
This was a very poor
and f**ked up region,
but people have improved their economic situation.
(Michael) And these days, money in this green gold comes at a price.
Criminal organizations like, the Cartel de Jalisco and Las Viagras
have set their sights on the fruit
as a way to diversify their illicit portfolios
by extorting growers and stealing land.
We're heading up to meet up with a group of people
who have organized to defend this land,
defend this area from cartels and criminal groups.
We're coming up to their checkpoint.
You can see a guy standing out here with an M4 rifle,
a sniper up there--
You're going to see people like this all over town
trying to protect this community.
Everyone gather.
Look, right now, I'll leave with the officers.
We'll do a crime prevention patrol.
We'll check that our boundaries are good.
(Michael) Hector "Tata" Saavedra is the commander of a local defense group
that rose up against the Knights Templar Cartel
when they tried to take over large swaths of Michoacan avocado orchards in 2013.
At the beginning, we defended ourselves with machetes, sticks, rocks...
We blocked every way to access our town.
No one gets out, no one gets in.
This was our best defense.
Things are a bit different today.
Close the convoy at about 50 meters for each vehicle, please.
Copiado [inaudible]
We're in the heart of the avocado production zone.
Organized crime is all around us.
There have been situations where we've been ambushed.
But it's our job to keep doing this.
(Michael) Last year, Tata and his men found themselves in a firefight
with members of the Cartel de Jalisco.
(bullets ricochetting)
The shootout lasted close to an hour.
The cartel's gunmen eventually retreated,
but not before Tata and his men captured one of their wounded.
When Tata and his team head out on patrol,
it's people like Virgilio Agustin Serrano, a local-farmer-turned-tower-guard,
who manages the checkpoints.
I'm going to f**king devour a rabbit.
Look at this damn rabbit.
Spicy?
No
It's not too spicy?
How often do you eat rabbit?
Only when gringos come to visit.
(laughter)
(Michael) What kind of attention did the avocado industry
bring to this community?
Our town used to be ignored.
But since the avocado production started,
the town has become known
and more developed.
(Michael) So these avocados are ready to cut?
(Hector) This will be ready to cut
at the beginning of December.
Hector's land produces roughly 20 tons of avocados,
and at 40 pesos a [box],
a farm like Virgilio's can rake in some 23,000 dollars per harvest.
There's a lot of people in the US that love these things,
but I don't think they realize
what all of Michoacan goes through
to not only harvest them,
but to keep you and the community safe
from the cartels and criminal groups.
What's your message to them to remember
when they eat an avocado?
Producing avocados is very hard.
I'm not talking about hard work,
but it takes a lot of organization.
In some case, it costs blood or lives.
Don't stop eating avocados.
You can rest assured it's a quality product
and that it's produced by Mexicans from Michoacan
and indigenous hands.
When's the last time you actually got to enjoy one?
I ate one this morning.
I constantly eat avocados.
I eat the ones I produce.
I eat them every day.
So, definitely the freshest piece of avocado I have ever eaten.
Cheers!
It's good, it's very good, yeah.
Yes, good.
I don't know if I should eat this whole thing, though.
I'm allergic. (laughter)
(Michael) For you, personally, what are you protecting?
(Hector) I'm personally protecting my family.
This is how we normally practice.
Are you afraid that things will go back to the way they were?
Things may go back as they were.
But let's hope not.
Fear has always been with us.
This is the reason we got organized.
We wouldn't have done it if we were not afraid.