Short answers, pulled from the story.
Archaeological evidence from Huaca Prieta on the northern coast of Peru reveals that humans were consuming avocados as early as 10,500 years ago. This predates other known discoveries by thousands of years and marks the beginning of human intervention in the fruit's survival.
Every commercial avocado tree in the world today traces its lineage back to a single tree planted by a mail carrier named Rudolph Hass in La Habra Heights, California. Hass discovered a chance seedling in 1926 that produced fruit with a thick, pebbly skin and high oil content, which he patented in 1935.
The global demand for avocados has triggered a crisis of water scarcity in the heart of Mexico's Michoacán state. To produce a single kilogram of avocados, farmers require approximately 300 liters of water, leading to environmental degradation and social unrest driven by drug cartels.
The leaves, bark, skin, and pit of the avocado tree contain a toxic fatty acid derivative called persin that can cause colic, respiratory distress, and death in susceptible species. While humans can safely consume the fruit, the rest of the tree is poisonous to many animals including horses, cattle, and birds.
In the United Kingdom, the avocado became available during the 1960s and its popularity was boosted by a long-running promotional campaign initiated by South African growers in 1995. This campaign helped transform the fruit from a local delicacy into a global commodity with exports increasing toward the possibility of becoming the world's most traded fruit by 2030.