Another one of our readers asked this question the other day. “Why should I buy organic coffee?” Considering that organic coffee may be harder to find and more expensive than regular why buy organic? The health benefits of coffee are the same for all types of coffee according to researchers. What are the differences that should guide you to healthy organic coffee instead of regular? There are two good reasons to buy organic coffee. One is that organic coffee is free of many impurities found in regular coffee and two is that organic coffee is grown using sustainable farming practices that guard the soil and water table against erosion and contamination.
Things to Avoid When You Drink Coffee
In our healthy organic coffee article we noted that the Australian Food Standards Authority found in regular coffee lots of stuff you would not want to be drinking.
A study by the Australian Food Standards Authority revealed that as many as 133 contaminants may be in a cup of commercially available coffee. These contaminants include metals such as aluminum and zinc, pesticide residues, ochratoxin A, acrylamide, furan, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are found to cause cancer. Furans have been associated with skin disorders, liver problems, certain kinds of cancers, impairment to the reproductive, endocrine, and immune system, as well as effects on embryonic development.
Organic coffee certification assures you that synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and other unpleasant ingredients are not in your cup of java.
Organic coffee differs from regular coffee in several aspects. The soil in which organic coffee is grown must have been verified as free from prohibited substances for at least three years. In addition there must be distinct boundaries between land on which organic coffee is grown and land where pesticides, herbicides, and prohibited chemical fertilizers are used. This guarantees that drift of substances sprayed or otherwise applied on adjacent land will not contaminate the organic plot of land. Organic coffee certification includes the adherence to a specific and verifiable plan for all practices and procedures from planting to crop maintenance, to harvest, de-husking, bagging, transport, roasting, packaging, and final transport. Along the way procedures must be in place at every step to insure that there is no contamination of the healthy organic coffee produced in pristine soil with regular coffee produced on soil exposed to herbicides, pesticides, and organic fertilizers.
And the processes used to grow organic coffee preserve the environment as well.
Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable coffee production saves the soil for years to come and preserves the natural habitat.
The term often used to describe the constellation of practices in organic farming is sustainability.
People should be able to choose food that is produced using organic regenerative practices based on sound ecological principles that rejuvenate the soil, grasslands and forests; replenish water; promote food sovereignty; and restore public health and prosperity – all while cooling the planet by drawing down billions of tons of excess carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil where it belongs.
The point being that it is possible to repair the earth and not just maintain the status quo. The problem is if people are willing to pay the cost by purchasing more expensive food.
Buy organic coffee to preserve the earth and buy organic coffee to avoid drinking fungicides with you morning cup of Joe.