Mezcal Boom Threatens Oaxaca's Forests

Today is March 16th, here's what's making headlines worldwide.

Miscale production in Oaxaca, Mexico, has exploded from small family traditions to a global

industry, 30 years ago, rural distilleries like Gladys Sanchez-Garnaca's family operation

lit up with one bulb and relied on local forests.

Now, international brands fuel a boom that's cleared over 86,000 acres of forest for agave

fields in area about the size of Detroit.

Agave plantations have grown more than 400% in major Oaxaca areas over the past few decades,

mostly with the Espaden variety for.

Commercial Miscale

This shift accelerates soil erosion, cuts carbon capture by 4 million tons yearly and strains

groundwater recharge while creating hotter, microclimates.

Local producers fill the mixed impact.

The economic lift helps fight poverty in these communities, but monoculture farming has

replaced diverse crops like corn and beans and waste dumping.

Has polluted rivers so badly, one is nicknamed Don't Even Smell It.

Firewood from illegal logging adds to the strain.

Water scarcity worsened during Oaxaca's worst drought in over a decade last year, with

each liter of Miscale needing at least 10 liters for processing.

Some distilleries now reuse water and begazza waste while brands like Del McGee have planted

trees and repurposed over 5,000 tons of residue.

To cut pollution, efforts for balance continue through groups like the Guardians of Miscale,

a women's collective promoting sustainable practices and protecting.

26,000 hectares of forest, producers call for better government incentives to blend tradition

with the boom without wrecking the land.

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