The avocado most people buy at the grocery store was born in a Southern California backyard a hundred years ago. The industry that grew around it may not survive there much longer.

California avocados are losing ground to imports from Michoacán, Mexico, where cartel organizations have moved beyond extorting farmers to seizing their land outright. For California growers already competing against lower labor and environmental costs, the pressure has no simple answer.

In this episode, Gary Gragg, president of Golden Gate Palms & Exotics Inc., and Katarina Szulc, LATAM freelance reporter, examine how the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened California’s avocado market to foreign competition it was never built to absorb, and what that has meant for local growers trying to stay in business under some of the most demanding farming regulations in the country.

*Views expressed in this video/article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.