Restaurants in the UK are being encouraged to take avocados off their menus, amid fears profits from the popular green fruit are being used to fund Mexican drug cartels. Drug bosses have taken control of farms growing avocados in Michoacan in west Mexico, following a spate of violence, reports the Guardian.

Now JP McMahon, a Michelin-Star chef from Galway, pleaded with customers in the UK to stop eating what he refers to as the "blood diamonds of Mexico". The founder of Food on The Edge says food outlets should “stop serving them”.

"Change won't happen unless consumers avoid them. We don't use any in our restaurants. There are plenty of alternatives,” McMahon says. "I don't use them because of the impact they have on the countries that they are coming from - deforestation in Chile, violence in Mexico. For me, they are akin to battery chickens."

McMahon is imploring not just restaurants but also the public to stop eating them.

"Change won't happen unless consumers avoid them," he continued. "We don't use any in our restaurants. There are plenty of alternatives. We have Jerusalem artichokes (as an alternative to avocados) with hollandaise in our brunch menu in Tartare at the moment."

Despite the fact that the avocado is one of the trendiest foods of the moment — there are restaurants dedicated to the fruit both in New York (Avocaderia) and London (Avobar) — an increasing number of eateries have removed the so-called superfood from their menus in recent months.

Several cafes have joined the avocado ban, with the Wild Strawberry Cafe in Buckinghamshire taking them off their menu, after previously serving up 1000 per week.

(Photo: NPR)