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Mezcal's popularity is booming in the US. That comes with a growing environmental cost in Mexico
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Mezcal's popularity is booming in the US. That comes with a growing environmental cost in Mexico

  • By CLAUDIA ROSEL Associated Press

Production of mezcal in Mexico is booming. That is to meet growing demand of the increasingly popular spirit in the United States. The boom in production has both created opportunities for producers, particularly in the state of Oaxaca, and come with environmental costs. One study found that plantations of agave, used to make mezcal, have expanded by over 400% over the past three decades, increasingly replacing forests and farmland with a species of agave known as espadin, used in most commercial mezcal. The loss of trees and vegetation is accelerating soil erosion, reducing the land's ability to capture carbon and recharge groundwater, creating heat islands in heavily planted areas.

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