"Coventionally-produced coffee is the third most heavily chemically treated crop in the world" (thenibble.com). This means that pesticides and fertilizers are regularly used in the production of coffee and the production is most likely not monitored. An increased intake of pesticides from foods can lead to harmful side effects so it is important to choose foods that have limited exposure to these harmful substances. Organic foods and discussion can be left for another day! In contrast to regular coffee, organic coffee is not permitted to be grown on land that has been exposed to pesticides, fertilizers or other negative substances. Organic coffee has also been noted to have a richer taste with decreased amounts of caffeine. The beans are higher in quality since they are not damaged by the presence of pesticides or other harmful substances. So by just a quick overview of comparing several aspects of the two different types of coffee it is evident that organic coffee has better nutritional and overall health value.
What constitutes a good cup of coffee for you?
(The picture is taken from one of my all-time favorite coffee shops in Birmingham: The Red Cat Coffee House. Check it out if you are ever in the area.)
Hi Olivia. Your article is quite interesting. The question from this farmer is "what fertilizers do you think are harmful, and do organic farmers fertilize?"
ReplyDeleteThis is just from the little research I have done and by no means do I fully understand it all. From what I have read, organic farmers build their healthy soil by feeding it biota and building the soil matter with cover crops, compost and biologically based soil amendments. Cover crops are planted specifically in the interest of improving soil quality. Organic farmers rely on soil organisms and good insects to help with the pest control. The organic farmers use many different natural methods of improving soil quality and maintaining integrity of crops first before resorting to the last option, which would be non-synthetic pesticides.
ReplyDeleteFor fertilizers that are harmful. One website said that NPK fertilizers have been known to cause human health problems. Overall, when looking at fertilizers, make sure that they are not made from wastes or contain heavy metals (lead, arsenic or cadmium).
More please, moooore! I've been waiting since Monday. :)
ReplyDeleteSo I think the next piece of research should be focused on the question of "could we feed the world organically?" In my opinion the only people who can afford to eat organically are those in the U.S. with financial means. If we had to feed the world without genetically modified seed and no NPK the world would starve. Just something to think about.
ReplyDelete