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 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
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.
Locals call it green gold.
Over the past 20 years,
America's obsession with 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.
And these days, money as green gold
comes at a price.
Criminal organizations,
ike Cartel de Jalisco en [ ]
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.
Hector "Tata" Saavedra is
the commander of a local defense group
that rose up against
the KnightsTemplar Cartel
When it 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.
Last year, Tata and his men
found themselves in a firefight
with members of the Cartel de Jalisco.
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.
(speaking Spanish)
When Tata and his team head out on patrol
It's people like for Healy
Augustine Serano, local farmer.
Turn Tower guard, who mans the
checkpoints but I'm awake connect.
Not often. Do we rabbit?
So romantic on the Wind
of Gringo's are eternal.
What kind of attention did the avocado
industry bring to this community?
It almost from well below
the government. Regalo para
la parte de la production.
We do. He saw the sorrow.
So these avocados ready to cut?
There's a star listo, Para cortar.
Ha of land produces roughly
20 tons of avocados,
and at 40 pesos of Papua Farm, like,
for Helios 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 in
the community safe from the
cartels and criminal groups.
What's your message to them? To
remember when they eat an avocado?
Like what got the Cuesta? Mucho trabajo?
No, mas
trabajo. She know Questa
organization Cuesta de Sangre in
algunos De vidas en algunos casos.
North American West robotic.
Consume an avocado.
When's the last time you
actually got to enjoy one,
all you want on my animal communicator?
So definitely be the freshest piece
of avocado I've ever eaten. Cheers.
It's good.
It's very good. Yeah.
Yeah, what up? Don't know if I should do
this whole thing though, I'm allergic.
For you personally. What are you
protecting me? And I open another meant to
protect me familiar.
Are you afraid that things will
go back to the way they were
when they occur Jaeger status
koshwal esperamos, que, no, Pare.