US: Chipotle threatens to take guacamole off the menu due to climate change

At Chipotle, guacamole costs extra - but it soon may not be available at all thanks to climate change. The Denver, Colorado-based chain of Mexican fast-food restaurants threatened to take the condiment off the menu because of the rising price of avocados.

While the avocado crop is currently fine, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are predicting drier temperatures will lead to a 40 per cent drop in California's avocado crop over the next 32 years. Most modern scientists agree that there is a direct correlation between the increase of droughts and global warming, according to Think Progress.

'Increasing weather volatility or other long-term changes in global weather patterns, including any changes associated with global climate change, could have a significant impact on the price or availability of some of our ingredients,' the chain wrote in their annual report released last month. In the event of cost increases with respect to one or more of our raw ingredients we may choose to temporarily suspend serving menu items, such as guacamole or one or more of our salsas, rather than paying the increased cost for the ingredients.'

Any increase in avocado prices impacts Chipotle, which uses an estimated 97,000 pounds of the fruit a day to make guacamole - adding up to 35.4million pounds of avocados a year.

However, the chain has made clear that they don't want to take guacamole off the menu and that doing so would hurt their business. 'Any such changes to our available menu may negatively impact our restaurant traffic and comparable restaurant sales, and could also have an adverse impact on our brand,' the report read.

For now, the forecast guacamole apocalypse may only affect Chipotle restaurants in California.

Source: dailymail.co.uk