Some Perspective on Instagram’s Favorite Meal

Take a second to google “avocado toast,” and you’ll be bombarded with recipes, some of them as confoundingly simple as, “toast bread until golden, remove avocado pit, and then scoop avocado flesh onto the toast.” 

From there, the variations seem limitless. And the price tags in restaurants reflect it. While a loaf of standard sliced bread and an avocado may only set you back $5, combinations of the two in restaurants can run from an $8 standard plate, to as much as $26 in New York, and even as high as $100 for a special plate with gold flakes sprinkled on top. 

What? One hundred dollars? Gold flakes? That’s right. The chef at Burnt Crumbs in Huntington Beach, California came up with a special version of the toast, created as some kind of message to millennials and the housing market.

It is safe to say that avocado toast is a thing.

The Rise of the Avocado Toast Hashtag

 In May 2019, there were at least 1.2 million hashtags on Instagram devoted to this dish. With a deeper analysis, perhaps we could find out how many of those hashtags were used by millennials, but for now, let’s just say the majority. 

Society loves to criticize its millenials for many things–from being soft and entitled, to wanting to live in vans, to eating a lot of avocado toast. Are all generations talked about as much as millennials? Or is this a new thing? And what’s up with avo toast, anyway? 

In 1994, when millennials were just kids, U. S. Americans consumed around one pound of avocado per person per year. California growers, who harvest in the U.S. summer months, supplied almost all the product. Over the following two decades, consumption steadily increased, and more than doubled in one 10-year period. 

Today,

U.S. Americans consume up to seven pounds per person—year-round. 

So, are the van-loving millennials and their love of guac-topped toast the reason for the incredible rise in demand? (Interestingly, the Super Bowl is the top day for avocado consumption in the United States, so it isn’t just the avocado toast driving consumption.)

Avocado toast is delightfully simple, and perhaps that’s why it became popular. Then like all things trending, avocado toast came under fire.

The problem? Millennials are lazy and excessive and would rather spend money on expensive, healthy fat-laden toast than buy houses, and the world at large will suffer.

Perhaps this is a simplified version of a complex social dynamic. The real problem is clear: avocado toast is basic.

Trends and Culture

Trends are fascinating. We don’t always know how or why something becomes suddenly, inexplicably trendy. Sometimes we don’t even know where trends originate. Avocado toast, while seen as a distinctly North American millennial trend, hails from Australia. 

Or was it Mexico? Where avocados have been piled generously onto tortillas and bread for years. 

Okay, truly, it was Califonia. It was definitely a California thing–a typical household snack whenever avocados were in season. 

Regardless of where this food fad started, or whether it will last, Instagram will never forget: warm, toasty bread topped with buttery, creamy, healthy green fat.

Want to find the best avocados for your toast? (We know you do!) Check out our marketplace to find avocado growers in our network.