Ethical value networks, metabolic fracture and sustainability in avocado production in Mexico and Chile. The cases of Uruapan and Quillota - La Cruz
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/bgss-2025-0031Keywords
metabolic rift, ethical value networks, sustainability, deforestracion, avocado, Mexico, ChileAbstract
The increase in avocado consumption produces the expansion of the areas occupied by monoculture and the exacerbation of environmental impacts that show the obsolescence of the sustainable certification strategies adopted by the industry. The theoretical analysis addresses the networks of ethical value and the metabolic fracture from which the legitimation of the product is sought from the discourse of sustainable production while making invisible the physical-natural transformations and economic, social, cultural and political conflicts. The objective is to discuss the discourses of sustainability in avocado production with the postulates of ethical value networks based on the analysis of four dimensions: industry, justice, sustainability and geographical origin. To this end, the cases of Uruapan, Michoacán in Mexico and Quillota-La Cruz, Valparaíso in Chile are analyzed. It is concluded that both case studies have socioeconomic shortcomings, with significant losses of vegetation cover, alterations in the hydrological cycle and soil erosion problems in which the metabolic crack of society-nature relations deepens.
References
Alarcón-Cháires, P. (2018). Ecocidio en Michoacán, quitan bosques y ponen aguacate (Ecocide in Michoacán, forests removed and avocado planted – in Spanish). Regeneración. Available at: https://regeneracion.mx/ecocidio-en-michoacan-quitan-bosques-y-ponen-aguacate/ (Accessed: 29 January 2024).
APEAM. (2023). Aguacate mexicano (Mexican avocado – in Spanish). Available at: http://www.apeamac.com/ (Accessed: 29 January 2024).
Bidwell, S., Murray, W.E., & Overton, J. (2018). Ethical agro-food networks in global peripheries, Part I: The rise and recommodification of fair trade and organics. Geography Compass, 12(4): e12366.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12366.
Carrillo Reyna, N., Rosete-Vergés, F.A., & Ruíz-López, R. (2025). Modelos predictivos de cambio de cobertura y uso de suelo: Estudio de caso Cerro del Águila y Cerro del Quinceo, Morelia, Michoacán (Predictive models of land cover and land use change: Case study Cerro del Águila and Cerro del Quinceo, Morelia, Michoacán – in Spanish). Revista de Geografía Norte Grande, 91: 1-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-34022025000200108.
CASEN. (2022). Encuesta de Caracterización Socioeconómica Nacional (National Socioeconomic Characterization Survey – in Spanish). Ministry of Social Development and Family, Chile. Available at: https://observatorio.ministeriodesarrollosocial.gob.cl/encuesta-casen-2022 (Accessed: 21 April 2024).
Clark, B., & Foster, J. (2009). Ecological imperialism and the global metabolic rift: Unequal exchange and the guano/nitrates trade. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 50(3): 311–334. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020715209105144.
Comisión para la Cooperación Ambiental – CCA. (2023). Recibe CCA petición sobre la producción de aguacate (CCA receives petition on avocado production – in Spanish). Available at: http://www.cec.org/es/medios/comunicados-de-prensa/recibe-la-cca-peticion-sobre-produccion-de-aguacate-en-michoacan/ (Accessed: 20 Aprol 2024).
Comité de Paltas Chile. (2023). Estadísticas (Statistics – in Spanish). Accessed: https://paltahass.cl/ (Available at: 16 March 2024).
Connolly, J., & Prothero, A. (2008). Green consumption: Life-politics, risk and contradictions. Journal of Consumer Culture, 8(1): 117–145.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540507086422.
Denvir, A., Arima, E.Y., González-Rodríguez, A., & Young, K.R. (2022). Ecological and human dimensions of avocado expansion in México: Towards supply-chain sustainability. Ambio, 51(1): 152–166. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-021-01538-6.
Dorantes, L., Parada, L., & Ortiz, A. (2004). Avocado: Post-harvest operation. Roma: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
El Economista. (2023). Michoacán prohibirá tala de árboles para el cultivo de aguacate (Michoacán will ban tree felling for avocado cultivation – in Spanish). Por C. Ayala Espinoza. Available at: https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/estados/Michoacan-prohibira-tala-de-arboles-para-el-cultivo-de-aguacate-20230209-0121.html (Accessed: 15 April 2024).
El País. (2023). Las extorsiones del crimen organizado disparan el precio del limón en México (Extortions by organized crime drive up the price of lemon in Mexico – in Spanish). Available at: https://elpais.com/mexico/actualidad/2023-10-01/las-extorsiones-del-crimen-organizado-disparan-el-precio-del-limon-en-mexico.html (Accessed: 27 March 2024).
FAOSTAT. (2022). Datos sobre alimentación y agricultura (Data on food and agriculture – in Spanish). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available at: https://www.fao.org/faostat/es/#home (Accessed: 22 April 2024).
Foster, J.B. (1999). Marx’s theory of metabolic rift: Classical foundations for environmental sociology. American Journal of Sociology, 105(2): 366–405. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/210315.
Foster, J.B. (2000). Marx’s ecology: Materialism and nature. Nueva York: Monthly Review.
González Arévalo, M.E., Anaya, C.A., Alvarado Ramos, L.F., Rosete Vergés, F.A., & Martínez Cruz, J. (2025). Diversidad, estructura y composición de las cubiertas del suelo de la Zona de Restauración y Protección Ambiental Cañadas del Río Chiquito de Morelia, Michoacán, México (Diversity, structure and composition of land cover in the Restoration and Environmental Protection Zone Cañadas del Río Chiquito in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico – in Spanish). Revista de Geografía Norte Grande, (92): 1-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-34022025000300108.
Henderson, J., Dicken, P., Hess, M., Coe, N., & Yeung, H.W.C. (2002). Global production networks and the analysis of economic development. Review of International Political Economy, 9(3): 436–464.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290210150842.
Hernández B.M., Andrews, M.N.G., & Vilches-Blázquez, L.M. (2024). El acoso al suelo de conservación de la Ciudad de México a través de los incendios forestales (Harassment of the conservation land of Mexico City through forest fires – in Spanish). Revista de Geografía Norte Grande, 88: 1-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-34022024000200108.
Hidalgo, R., Paulsen, P., Vergara Constela, C., Alvarado, V., & González, M. (2023). Nature, matter and neoliberalism: Discussing the metabolic rupture in producing the urban space in Chile. Sociologias, 24(61): 322–349. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/18070337-121383.
Hornborg, A., Clark, B., & Hermele, K. (2013). Ecology and power: Struggles over land and material resources in the past, present, and future. Londres: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203122815.
IMPLAN Uruapan. (2021). Plan Municipal de Desarrollo Uruapan (Municipal Development Plan Uruapan – in Spanish). Available at: https://implanuruapan.gob.mx/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Plan-Municipal-de-Desarrollo_2018_2021.pdf (Accessed: 17 March 2024).
La Jornada. (2023). Llegada del Supertazón aumenta la explotación a jornaleros aguacateros (Arrival of the Super Bowl increases exploitation of avocado farm workers – in Spanish). Available at: https://www.jornada.com.mx/notas/2023/02/11/reportaje/llegada-del-supertazon-aumenta-la-explotacion-a-jornaleros-aguacateros/ (Accessed: 20 April 2024).
La Jornada. (2023). México es campeón productor y exportador de oro verde (Mexico is champion producer and exporter of green gold – in Spanish). Available at: https://www.jornada.com.mx/2023/02/11/deportes/a03n1dep (Accessed: 24 march 2024).
La Quinta Emprende (LQE). (2019). Un ecosistema para emprender (An ecosystem for entrepreneurship – in Spanish). Available at: https://issuu.com/laquintaemprende/docs/lqe-revista11 (Accessed: 11 April 2024).
Macías, C.V.A., Rosales, M.Á.C., Bautista, L.O., Díaz, D.B.R., Rocha, H.N., Hernández, M.F.S., & Contreras, J.C.S. (2022). Aguacate Hass, la ruta de las pérdidas económicas (Hass avocado, the route of economic losses – in Spanish). South Florida Journal of Development, 3(1): 300–322.
Madariaga, A., Maillet, A., & Rozas, J. (2021). Multilevel business power in environmental politics: The avocado boom and water scarcity in Chile. Environmental Politics, 30(7): 1174–1195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2020.1865960.
Murray, W.E., Howson, K., Bidwell, S., Overton, J., Rehner, J., & Williams, P.B. (2022). Ethical value networks. In Ethical value networks in international trade. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Napoletano, B., Paneque-Gálvez, J., Méndez-Lemus, Y., & Vieyra, A. (2019). Geographic rift in the urban periphery, and its concrete manifestations in Morelia, México. Journal of Latin American Geography, 18(1): 38–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/lag.0.0106.
ODEPA. (2020). Catastro frutícola Región de Valparaíso 2020 (Fruit Register of Valparaíso Region 2020 – in Spanish). Available at: https://bibliotecadigital.odepa.gob.cl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12650/70428/catastroFruticolaValpo2020.pdf (Accessed: 14 Match 2024).
Ornelas, R.G. (2018). Organized crime in Michoacán: Rent-seeking activities in the avocado export market. Politics & Policy, 46(5): 759–789. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12264.
Overton, J., Murray, W.E., & Howson, K. (2019). Doing good by drinking wine? Ethical value networks and upscaling of wine production in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. European Planning Studies, 27(12): 2431–2449. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2019.1663902.
Panez-Pinto, A., Mansilla-Quiñones, P., & Moreira-Muñoz, A. (2018). Agua, tierra y fractura sociometabólica del agronegocio: Actividad frutícola en Petorca, Chile (Water, land and socio-metabolic fracture of agribusiness: Fruit-growing activity in Petorca, Chile – in Spanish). Bitácora Urbano Territorial, 28(3): 153–160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15446/bitacora.v28n3.72210.
Rainforest Alliance. (2023). Contratación ética y justa para trabajadores: Tres formas de lograrla (Ethical and fair hiring for workers: Three ways to achieve it – in Spanish). Available at: https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/es/en-el-campo/contratacion-etica-y-justa-de-trabajadores-tres-formas-de-lograrla/ (Accessed: 27 March 2024).
Redagrícola. (2022). Sustentabilidad e innovación (Sustainability and innovation – in Spanish). Available at: https://redagricola.com/sustentabilidad-e-innovacion-focos-principales-de-la-gran-conferencia-redagricola-santiago-2022/ (Accessed: 22 March 2024).
Roose, I., & Panez, A. (2020). Social innovations as a response to dispossession: Community water management in view of socio-metabolic rift in Chile. Water, 12(2): 566. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020566.
Saito, K. (2020). Marx’s theory of metabolism in the age of global ecological crisis. Historical Materialism, 28(2): 3–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206X-12341716.
Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (National Service for Health, Safety, and Agri-Food Quality – in Spanish). (2020). Aguacate michoacano igual a empleo y bienestar (Michoacán avocado equals employment and well-being – in Spanish). Available at: https://www.gob.mx/senasica/articulos/aguacate-michoacano-igual-a-empleo-y-bienestar (Accessed: 12 April 2024).
SIAP. (2021). Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera (Agri-Food and Fisheries Information Service – in Spanish). Government of Mexico. Available at: https://www.gob.mx/siap (Accessed: 14 March 2024).
Subercaseaux-Ugarte, D., Bocco, G., Cumana, I., Moreno-Calles, A.I., Astier, M., & Navarrete, A. (2025). Cambio de uso del suelo e implicaciones de la expansión agroindustrial aguacatera en el occidente de México (Land use change and implications of avocado agroindustrial expansion in western Mexico – in Spanish). Revista de Geografía Norte Grande, 90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-34022025000100000.
Varul, M. (2016). Cultural sociology of ethical consumption. In: Inglis, D. & Almila, A. (eds.), The SAGE handbook of cultural sociology. Londres: SAGE Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473957961.n41.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Sebastián Rodríguez-Leiva, Norma Angélica Rodríguez, Rodrigo Hidalgo, Antonio Vieyra, Octavio Montes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Title, logo and layout of journal Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series are reserved trademarks of Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series.Stats
Number of views and downloads: 254
Number of citations: 0
