Avocados are one of the most popular fruits in the US; two-thirds of US consumers purchased avocados in the past year, according to the Hass Avocado Board 2014 tracking study.¹

 

Among them, 60 percent fell into the “lovers/enthusiasts” category, which means they purchased at least 37, and in some cases more than 120, avocados a year.

This is particularly striking when you consider that during the 1920s – and as late as the 1970s – avocados were thought of more as a luxury item or delicacy than an everyday food.

In fact, the avocados of the early 20th century weren’t known as avocados at all. They were still called “alligator pears,” due to their green bumpy skin, which hardly enticed eaters. In an intriguing article in The Atlantic, it’s revealed that avocados’ rise into “mainstream” meals was not a matter of happenstance.²

From receiving a new name to starring in brilliant PR campaigns, avocados were able to rise up out of obscurity, beat the low-fat craze of the ’80s and ’90s, and find their way into the hearts… and stomachs… of Americans.

Avocado Growers’ Long Fight to Boost Avocados’ Reputation

According to a trade group in 1927, “That the avocado, an exalted member of the laurel family, should be called an alligator pear is beyond all understanding.”³

The California Avocado Growers’ Exchange was pivotal in removing the word “alligator” from the avocado lexicon, and getting them known to the public as avocados instead (a word that, ironically, comes from an even worse association, the Aztec “ahuacacuahatl” or “testicle tree”).

However, avocados, due to their limited growing climate, were an expensive fruit, selling at $1 each in 1974 (which would be like $4.80 today). They were marketed as a gourmet food, and most considered them to be a delicacy, not something for everyday meals.

“I vividly remember my mom serving [avocado] in the 1960s when she wanted to be fancy and impress our guests,” Jeffrey Charles, a professor of Food History at California State University at San Marcos told The Atlantic.⁴

Then, in the 1980s, public health organizations began to push low-fat diets. The avocado, with its high level of healthy fats, did not fit the bill, and even physicians “warned” against their consumption. Jan DeLyser, vice president of Marketing with the California Avocado Commission, told The Atlantic:⁵

“I can remember seeing a fact-sheet that came from a doctor my husband went to years ago… It was a heart-health type message. It said, ‘Do not consume avocados.'”

Around this time, avocado growers fought back against the low-fat movement. They funded research studies to prove that the fat in avocados was healthy and enhanced nutrient absorption, and launched TV ads showing fit celebrities, like Angie Dickinson, eating avocados.