Should Your Coffee Creamer Be Organic?

Do you take the time and make the effort to buy organic coffee? Or do you purchase any of the Colombian coffees that are organic in everything but name? Either way, should your creamer be organic too? And, for that matter, should your organic creamer be real cream or milk or a vegetable-based creamer? What are the pros and cons of dairy versus vegetable lookalikes? And, how much of a fuss will it be to find organic creamer to go with your organic coffee?

Organic Dairy Creamer

Organic cream comes from organic milk. Organic milk comes from cows that are fed organic feed and are not given synthetic hormones. Additionally, organic milk comes from cows who do not receive any medications that are specifically proscribed and are generally cared for in a more humane manner than is normal for dairy cattle. That includes more space in their stalls. Like with organic coffee the United States Department of Agriculture certifies organic dairy products so look for the USDA Organic seal when buying organic dairy creamer.

Organic Creamer from Soybeans and Other Vegetables

For people who want to avoid cream with cholesterol, are allergic to dairy products, or want a powdered creamer with a longer shelf life, there are vegetable oil-based organic creamers. Soybeans are a common source of these oils. Farmers who grow organic soybeans do not use pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Although American farmers plant millions of acres of soybeans every year only about 100,000 acres are devoted to organic soybeans. The biggest producers of organic soybeans are Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa. Whether your organic coffee creamer is made with soybeans, corn oil, or any other vegetable oil, it needs to get USDA certification showing you that it was planted, grown, harvested, and processed following USDA organic food guidelines. Like with coffee, these organic crops are grown, harvested, processed, and stored so as to avoid contamination of organic crops with non-organic.

Organic Handling of Plant Diseases for Organic Crops

Because a farmer can only use natural methods for dealing with plant diseases, this excludes the use of artificial chemicals. Thus, to avoid many of diseases that are commonly caused by crowding plants together for a higher yield, farmers typically space their organic soybeans and other plants farther apart. More space means faster drying after rainfall and thus less risk of fungal infections like white mold which is a common problem with soybeans.

USDA Organic Coffee Certification Is the Gold Standard
USDA Organic Coffee Certification

Organic Fertilizers for Organic Crops

To avoid the use of synthetic fertilizers, organic farmers use manure from livestock, composts, gypsum, rock phosphates, and limestone. The coffee drinker who prefers organic creamer with organic coffee does not need to know all of the details. Rather they simply look for the USDA Organic label of the product when they purchase it.

Benefits of Vegetable-Based Organic Creamers

Vegetable-based creamers do not have cholesterol or other animal fats and oils. If part of why you drink organic coffee is because of the health benefits, avoiding dairy fats in your creamer is probably a good idea. Another issue that one might not be aware of is that the calcium in dairy products binds to several of the healthy antioxidants in organic coffee making them useless.

As a rule you can find organic creamers where they sell organic coffee.

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