This is my attempt to clear up a bit about USDA certified organic products, in particular, organic coffee.
1) No synthetic chemicals or pesticides can be used to raise certified organic crops.
2) Organic certified products can’t use Frankenstein, genetically manipulated crops or animals.
3) Products labeled 100% organic may only contain certified organic ingredients and processing aids, except for 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% have to be on the USDA approved list and can’t be available in a non-organic form.
5) If you see the USDA organic logo it implies the product is either 100% Organic or 95% organic.
6) If an agricultural food, in this case, coffee is labeled as organic it can’t be treated with nasty fertilizers like sewage sludge.
I’m not trying to bore you with boring organic labeling facts, but you need to know what you’re getting into with “organic” products. Now that we have explored the fine points of organic certification we can move onto the topic at hand. Since we are looking at coffee, you can be fairly sure that 100% of the coffee beans are organic in an organically grown coffee.
Why should you care if your coffee is grown organically?
1) I certainly wouldn’t want to drink a beverage that was fertilized with sewage sludge, do you?
2) There’s the whole Frankenstein gene thing. I don’t want my morning fix to have gorilla genes spliced in just so the beans can have less of a twang.
3) For you unleaded coffee drinkers, organic coffee is your best friend. Typical decaf. coffees are decaffeinated utilizing toxic organic solvents such as methylene chloride and ethyl acetate. Organic decaffeinated coffee is processed using hot water, and NO chemicals. There seems to be proof to suggest that drinking chemical processed decaffeinated coffees may lead to rheumatoid arthritis.
4) Pesticides and herbicides are lethal in high doses. Many coffee farmers in undeveloped countries can not read adequately, which may result in improper mixing of chemicals and inadequate protective clothing.
What we’ve just gone through are just a few reasons to only purchase organic coffee. It goes much deeper than the coffee itself. A lot of toxins are created in the making of non-organic chemicals.
In conclusion, one must think about the complete love and attention that comes from growing coffee organically. The farmers inspect and nurture their crops, resulting in perfectly developed beans. Whatever your beliefs, give organic coffee a try before you dismiss it completely.
By now you’re probably wondering “where can I get Organic Coffee on a regular basis?” We’ll, go to Nectar of Life’s Coffee of the Month Club!
