Name: 為什麼牛油果這麼貴｜這麼貴？ (Why Avocados Are So Expensive | So Expensive)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T08:32:42.000Z
Duration: 8 min 34 s

Avocado has become one of the world's trendiest foods.

酪梨已成為世界上最時尚的食物之一。

As the poster child of millennial healthy eating,

this superfood is now a mainstay for foodies everywhere.

這種超級食物，現已成為世界各地美食家不可或缺的食材。

但是，你是否注意到塗在麵包上的酪梨抹醬

Avocado prices have rocketed in recent years by up to 129%,

with the average national price of a single Hass avocado

2019 年哈斯酪梨的全國平均價格

reaching $2.10 in 2019, almost doubling in just one year.

達到 2.10 美元一顆，在短短一年內幾乎翻了一倍。

Archaeologists in Peru have found domesticated avocado seeds

秘魯的考古學家發現了西元前 750 年，和印加木乃伊埋在一起

buried with Incan mummies dating back to 750 BC.

But it was the Aztecs in 500 BC who named it āhuacatl,

但是，在西元前 500 年的阿茲特克人將其命名為 āhuacatl

When Spanish conquistadors swept through Mexico

predominantly in Central America and South America.

outside of these regions before the late 19th century

中南美洲以外的地區，幾乎沒有人食用

The commercialization of aguacate began in the early 1900s

but was focused on branding avocados as a delicacy

但當時是將酪梨塑造為有錢人的美味佳餚

for the wealthy, like this advert in The New Yorker

就像這則 1920 年刊登在「紐約客」雜誌的廣告

But a selection of Californian growers realized

但是一些美國加州的種植者意識到

that the hard-to-pronounce aguacate was off-putting

酪梨的西語發音「aguacate」很難唸，不利於推廣到

到了 1950 年代，酪梨生產規模擴大

and avocado prices fell to about 25 cents each.

Popularity increased further with the wave

1960 年代，隨著拉丁美洲人到美國的移民浪潮

of inter-American immigration in the '60s,

as Latin Americans brought their love of avocados

But as demand increased, supply had to keep up,

但随着需求的增加，供給也必須跟上

and the true difficulties of yielding large-scale

Avocado orchards require an extraordinary amount

of costly resources in order to flourish.

whether it's water, fertilizer, pruning, pest control,

舉凡灌溉、施肥、修剪、預防蟲害

All those go into making your chances better

When we decide to plant an avocado orchard,

we'll plant trees that come from certified nurseries.

我們栽種的樹苗都是來自於通過認證的苗圃。

We have to place our orders years in advance.

On average, if we're producing 100,000 pounds per acre,

平均來說，如果我們每英畝生產 10 萬磅酪梨

that takes about a million gallons of water,

so it'd be about 50  gallons per 8-ounce fruit.

每 8盎 司果實，大约需要 50 加侖的水。

But that's dependent on what mother nature

will throw at you, you know, we have wind,

the unmanageable things that will affect a crop.

要處理那些影響收成，又非我們可掌控的事，是非常困難的。

Narrator: The surge in popularity of avocados

stalled during the fat-fighting frenzy of the 1980s,

在 1980 年代的抗脂熱潮中停滯不前

with an average of only 1 pound per capita

The decade's low-fat obsession drove consumers

away from avocado because of its high fat content,

十餘年來的低脂飲食迷思，使得消費者遠離酪梨

Hazel Wallace: When it comes to fat in food in general,

Hazel Wallace： 一般來說，當談到食物中的脂肪時

people tend to get a little bit concerned

is monounsaturated fat, which is actually often deemed

是單元不飽和脂肪，事實上通常被認為是

健康的脂肪，或是有益於心臟的脂肪

so while there is a lot of fat in avocados,

得助於一個意想不到的政治決定

at the turn of the millennium, and it was helped

In 2005, the US Department of Agriculture

lifted a 90-year-old ban to allow the importation

取消了一項實施了 90 年的禁令，允許全美 50 個州

Initially, this decision angered Californian growers,

最初，這一決定激怒了加州的酪梨農夫

who feared the move could slash local growers' sales

他們擔心此舉將使當地種植的酪梨銷量

What actually had transpired and took place

was, as that Mexican supply became much more

隨著墨西哥酪梨的供給變得越來越普及

prevalent and available, retailers got behind

和更容易買得到，零售商銷售酪梨

food service providers, restaurants started putting it

食品供應商，餐館，開始將酪梨放入

because the inconsistent supply chains before

因為以前有不同的供應商，現在則是

were now consistent, and consumers were allowed

可以統一自墨西哥進口，所以消費者一年四季

Narrator: The biggest day of the avocado calendar

became Super Bowl Sunday, when it's now estimated

最重要的一天是美式足球「超級杯星期天」，據估計

that almost 200 million pounds of avocados

are eaten during the big game in America.