Public reporting suggests Sprouts sources avocados from illegally deforested land,[1] harming local communities and biodiversity and posing reputational and regulatory risks to Sprouts.

Mexico accounts for nearly 90 percent of avocado shipments into the United States.[2] For the past decade, over ten football fields of Mexican forests have been cleared daily for avocado orchards, most of which lack required permits.[3] By 2050, land used for avocado production is predicted to increase by over 70 percent.[4]

Over the past two decades, virtually all avocado-related deforestation in Michoacán, where roughly 90 percent of Mexican avocados to the United States originate, has violated Mexican federal law which prohibits conversion of forests to agricultural production without government authorization. The crime of intentionally setting forest fires frequently facilitates this deforestation.[5]

Mexico’s main avocado-growing regions are currently in a severe drought.[6] Water used for avocado orchards is often obtained by illegally diverting streams, digging wells for irrigation, and replacing native forests with orchards, depleting water supplies for communities and making forests and farms more vulnerable to fires and disease.[7]

The burning and deforestation associated with conversion also releases greenhouse gases, reduces carbon storage, increases floods and landslides, undercuts biodiversity and the replenishment of aquifers,[8] and is destroying the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, further imperiling the endangered species.[9]

Sprouts expects its suppliers to “comply with federal, state and local environmental regulations.”[10] Yet, Mexican government records indicate orchards containing illegally deforested land are supplying avocados to Sprouts, calling into question the sufficiency of Sprouts’ due diligence protocols for its avocado suppliers.[11]

The state of Michoacán established a certification program to help retailers and suppliers strengthen the sustainability of their avocado supply chains. Under this program, packinghouses are certified under a satellite-based monitoring system to ensure that suppliers do not include avocados from orchards on lands deforested since 2018 and that orchard owners are not facing penalties for environmental crimes, including unauthorized water use. Because many major U.S. avocado packers have adopted this certification,[12] deforestation rates in the region are slowing and certification is becoming industry standard.[13]

Sprouts, however, has not made a commitment to require its suppliers to use the Michoacán certification program, or any equivalent, creating material reputational, brand, and supply chain risks for Sprouts. Conducting an assessment of its due diligence policies, including use of certification systems, will help Sprouts reduce the likelihood of lawsuits and prevent greenwashing accusations, while protecting human rights and critical habitat.

[1] https://cri.org/reports/unholy-guacamole/

[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33126191/

[3] https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/mexicos-avocado-industry-harms-monarch-butterflies-but-will-u-s-officials-act-commentary/

[4] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358551509

[5] https://cri.org/reports/unholy-guacamole/

[6] https://smn.conagua.gob.mx/es/climatologia/monitor-de-sequia/monitor-de-sequia-en-mexico

[7] https://research.fs.usda.gov/pnw/forestplanthealth

[8] https://cri.org/reports/unholy-guacamole/

[9] https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7159/1/4/23

[10] https://www.sprouts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Sprouts-Code-Of-Conduct-Rebrand.pdf

[11] https://cri.org/reports/unholy-guacamole/

[12] www.forestavo.com; https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/world/americas/mexico-avocados-deforestation.html

[13] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/world/americas/mexico-avocado-stop-deforestation-plan.html