Here's a quick rundown of what organic really means, and why I think people should only consume organic coffee.

 

1) No synthetic fertilizers or pesticides may be used to grow certified organic crops.

 

2) Certified organic foods cannot contain genetically modified plants or animals.

 

3) In order for an item to be labeled 100% organic it may only contain certified organic ingredients and/or processing agents, excluding water and salt.

 

4) The term "certified organic" can be a little tricky. In this case only 95% of the components need to be certified organic, but the remaining 5% must be on the USDA approved list and not be available in a non-organic form.

 

5) The USDA organic logo can be displayed on any 100% organic or "Organic" item.

 

6) If an agricultural food, like coffee is labeled as organic it must not be treated with nasty fertilizers like sewage sludge.

 

The above is just a quick rundown of the USDA organic labeling guidelines. Now let's discuss my passion, organic coffee. Looking back at the previously mentioned definition of "certified organic" we understand that organic coffee must contain at least 95% organic ingredients.

 

You may be saying to yourself, "who cares if my coffee was grown without chemicals?" well here's a few reasons:

 

1) I certainly wouldn't want to imbibe a beverage that was fertilized with sewage sludge, do you?

 

2) In the USA, genetically engineered crops don't have to be labeled as such, so the only way to have a clue that your coffee is not genetically engineered is to purchase certified organic coffee.

 

3) For you decaf. drinkers, organic coffee is your best friend. Down right nasty chemicals such as ethyl acetate and methylene chloride are used in processing traditional decaf. coffees. Organic decaf. coffees are treated by a water method. Recent studies show that drinking decaffeinated coffee leads to rheumatoid arthritis. More studies need to be done to compare current (chemical decaf.) and water processed decaf.

 

4) It's not just the consumer that chemicals are bad for, but think about the poor coffee farmers. Most coffee is cultivated in many poor places in the world, and a lot of these farmers are unable to understand herbicide and pesticide warning labels, resulting in erroneous preparation of chemicals, and therefore, toxic exposure for them and the environment.

 

I could ramble on about why you may want to consider to only buy organic coffee. Then there is the manufacturing of pesticides and herbicides. The environmental impact from this alone is motivation enough to persuade anyone to buy organic coffee.

 

As a closing thought, farmers that cultivate their coffees organically are giving specieal attention to the ongoing needs of their coffee, resulting in high quality coffee that tastes great! Whatever your beliefs, give organic coffee a try before you dismiss it entirely.

 

If you would like to try Organic Coffee, then click on the following link, Nectar of Life Organic Coffee Company. You'll be surprised how good organic coffee tastes!