A Super Bowl party without guacamole is like a game of football without the pigskin: Hopeless.
Not to worry -- it seems like Americans are up to speed on this truth. In the four weeks leading up to Super Bowl XLIX, 185 million pounds of avocados will be imported and sold in the U.S., according to HuffPost's phone conversation with Alvaro Luque, President of Avocados From Mexico. The amount of guacamole served on this year's Super Bowl Sunday could fill an entire football field -- and pile upwards of 40 feet high. We're going to need some bigger chips.
Super Bowl XLIX will be especially momentous, not just because of Deflategate accusations, but also because it is the first time a fresh produce brand will air a commercial during the game. We're accustomed to chips, beer and cars streaming throughout the game, but this year a 30-second ad from Avocados From Mexico, which represents more than 70 percent of the avocado market in the U.S., will play after the first quarter. This innovation paves the way for other healthy foods to enter American households in a big way and will, of course, remind viewers to take a dip into the guac sitting on the coffee table.
The avocado craze is both a little promising and little exciting; it hints at a national shift toward being more health-conscious. Even if it's a subconscious lean, folks are actively seeking a food that supports healthy cholesterol levels, boasts a mean amount of potassium and offers anti-inflammatory properties.
Last year, an estimated 4.25 billion avocados were consumed in the States, nearly twice as many compared to the number consumed in 2005. The fleshy green superfood is winning the produce popularity contest and was crowned "America's new favorite fruit" by Roberto A. Ferdman in The Washington Post. Unsurprisingly, guacamole is America's favorite way to eat it, according to Luque.
Avocados have popped up in places other than atop of chips, too: In 2011, Subway added avocado to its list of toppings for fast food sandwiches. Last year, McDonald's tested a guacamole burger and earlier Burger King took a stab at an avocado and Swiss Whopper.
This certainly isn't the country's first stint with a food obsession: Dominque Ansel's Cronut™ had hungry, trendy doughnut cravers waiting out in the cold at the crack of dawn and the ramen craze is still not over. But avocado is something different: Avocado is a health food, and people are ingesting nutritional benefits nationwide.
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