alternative to 'green gold'

As the climate warms, eating sustainable foods and a plant-based diet are ways to curb carbon emissions. Innovative food alternatives can help consumers to do their part for the planet while still enjoying the tastes and textures of the food they love -- like the "Ecovado" (pictured), an eco-friendly avocado alternative created by UK-based designer and researcher Arina Shokouhi. Look through the gallery to learn more.

Often referred to as "green gold," the avocado has soared in popularity in recent years. Eleven billion pounds of the fruit are consumed annually around the world according to the World Economic Forum.

However, our love of avocados comes at a significant cost to the environment: approximately 2,000 liters of water are used to grow just one kilogram of avocados, while forests are cleared to make space for avocado trees.

That's why London-based researcher and designer Arina Shokouhi decided to develop an eco-friendly avocado alternative. Called the "Ecovado" she hopes it will inspire consumers to think twice before slicing into the fruit for breakfast toast or whipping up the next batch of guacamole.

"It can be actually a positive solution and we should just embrace it because we know that we can't carry on living like this," says Shokouhi.

A "green" design

At first glance, the Ecovado is indistinguishable from the real thing. Made with beeswax and natural food coloring containing spinach and charcoal powders, the Ecovado skin mimics avocado peel. The meat of the alternative fruit is made with four simple ingredients: broad beans as the base, apple for freshness, cold-pressed rapeseed oil for creaminess, and a sprinkle of hazelnut. A whole chestnut or hazelnut is used for the pit.

The Ecovado was developed as part of Shokouhi's Material Futures master's degree at Central Saint Martins art school. Having come up with the concept at the end of her first year, she forged a collaboration with University of Nottingham food scientist, Jack Wallman, who had studied the molecular properties of avocados to understand what gives them their creamy texture. It took eight months to perfect the recipe, says Shokouhi.

Creating a sustainable and appealing avocado substitute was a challenge.

"(The) choice of ingredients was very limited to begin with because I want it to be 100% local. That was my first priority," Shokouhi says, adding that she calls this the "British" version.

Shokohui wanted the Evocado to offer the health and environmental benefits that come from eating locally sourced food.

Garden peas and broccoli were early recipe contenders, Shokouhi says, but had low local production. Making up the base of the Ecovado, broad beans, also known as fava beans, are relatively easy to grow, with around 740,000 metric tons harvested in the UK each year.

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