TV chefs blamed for turning Mediterranean into a desert as demand for olive oil surges

According to the Ecologist magazine, our desire for the oil has turned parts of Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal into deserts - and led to water shortages.

After popular chefs started using olive oil as a mainstay in recipes, demand has dramatically increased.

Chefs including Jamie Oliver are fuelling the demand for olive oil, it has been claimed

Between 2000 and 2005, UK sales soared by 39 per cent. More money is spent on olive oil than all other cooking oils.

But the idyllic olive groves which grace the bottles in our kitchens, are hiding a mass of industrial farms, it is said. 'Now we've become a nation of drizzlers, to meet this new appetite mass-market brands are produced intensively, so supermarkets can sell it in high volumes at lower prices,' the magazine said.

Trees are densely-packed, planted in irrigated lowland plains.

Olives are harvested by machine. Farms use more water and chemicals than traditional farms on upland terraces.

'Demand for cheap, mass-produced oil is making it a struggle for the smaller, traditional farms to be economically viable,' the magazine added.

Olive groves in Southern Europe are turning into deserts, according to The Ecologist magazine

Guy Beaufoy, a consultant on agricultural policies in Europe, said the situation is 'an environmental catastrophe'.

The water needed to produce -the olives is having a drastic effect on supply, he added.

Although Spain is in a fourth consecutive year of drought, more than 80 per cent of its water is devoted to irrigated crops, he said.

'People are drilling water resources not touched for thousands of years - all for a few more olives.'

Parts of Italy and Greece are also expanding production even though ground water has been depleted.

Intensive farming is turning parts of Southern Europe into deserts, he added: 'Anywhere in the main olive-producing areas you can see tremendous soil erosion.'

Shoppers are advised to buy organic olive oil from traditional farms.

Typically, 500ml of own-brand olive oil sells for less than £2.50.