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What Is Organic Coffee?
As demand for coffee rises, it’s essential that farming methods support the environment. Unfortunately, traditional sun-grown coffee plantations causes deforestation while forests provide essential ecosystem services like storing water, cycling soil nutrients, maintaining microclimate balances and providing homes to numerous plant and animal species.
Organic coffee farmers adhere to stringent environmental and supply chain standards when farming organic coffee crops, free from synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
Environmentally Friendly
Organic coffee is produced without using synthetic chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides, producing a healthier cup while benefitting the environment by protecting biodiversity, reducing soil erosion, and decreasing carbon footprints. Organic farming practices help preserve biodiversity while decreasing soil erosion rates and carbon emissions.
Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers require significant energy for production, which makes them more harmful to the environment than organic products. Furthermore, chemical-sprayed crops often leach harmful residue into local waterways and groundwater supplies. Conversely, organic farms tend to be much friendlier for the planet than conventional coffee producers since they don’t rely on synthetic chemicals but instead employ natural plant-based fertilizers like coffee pulp, chicken manure or compost as fertilizers.
Organic coffee benefits both our environment and farmers and their families in numerous ways, not least its environmental protection capabilities. Because its production does not rely on chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides, its price tends to be less expensive than non-organic alternatives allowing small-scale farmers to make a living by cultivating and selling organic coffee beans.
Organic coffee offers additional advantages; for one thing, its shade-grown nature helps preserve soil quality while preventing erosion. Plus, its habitat for birds and insects serves as natural pest control measures.
Organic coffee can also provide health benefits to anyone suffering from digestive conditions like acid reflux and GERD, including acid reflux. Research shows that when people drink low-acid organic coffee it stimulates hydrochloric acid and gastrin production – two necessary proteins necessary for breaking down food in your stomach.
Though it might seem counterintuitive, choosing organic coffee may actually be healthier for your body as it doesn’t contain mycotoxin aflatoxin which is found in conventionally produced beans. Aflatoxin has been linked with liver and intestinal cancer; by purchasing organic beans instead, you are protecting your health from this dangerous toxin while supporting ethical coffee production practices at no additional cost to yourself or Mother Earth! Plus, every delicious cup you spend is well worth your while both personally and for Mother Nature’s health!
Rich in Antioxidants
Organic coffee is full of antioxidants – plant compounds that fight disease and promote health – such as chlorogenic acid, quercetin and kaempferol. Antioxidants in coffee have been linked with reduced risks of diabetes, heart disease and cancer; as well as giving fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors. According to one 2014 study conducted on people receiving most of their antioxidant intake through beverages like coffee, tea or beer; with coffee being particularly abundant with ORAC score (oxygen radical absorbance capacity).
Organic coffee not only supports environmental sustainability and healthier ecosystems, but it’s also packed with essential nutrients that your body requires to function optimally – such as B vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin as well as potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc.
Organic coffee ensures you don’t ingest any potentially toxic chemicals. Conventional coffee beans and grounds are typically grown using artificial pesticides and herbicides, leaving behind chemical residues in your system that could eventually end up as caffeine residue. With organic coffee, all beans and grounds grown without synthetic chemicals – meaning no harmful residues enter your system via your beverage!
Organic coffee stands out as an environmentally-friendly product because of its shade-grown process. Conventional farmers plant under direct sunlight; but organic farmers employ biodiversity-promoting practices by keeping native trees around to provide shade and prevent soil erosion – this helps both wildlife that uses this habitat as well as humans alike.
Organic coffee plantations also benefit from natural sunlight reaching their roots, as their water needs are lower due to shadier conditions. This allows production costs to decrease and make organic coffee more cost-effective for consumers – all leading up to delicious organic beverages that are better for both your body and planet! So go ahead and indulge your morning java fix; it can do wonders for your brain, immune system, metabolism and beyond – just opt for organic whenever possible and skip sugar or cream for best results!
Free of Pesticides and Artificial Fertilizers
No matter your coffee preferences, organic options remain an increasingly popular choice due to being free from potentially harmful pesticides and artificial fertilizers, making it better for both the environment and farmers. Whatever your coffee preference may be, more organic options must be made available worldwide in order to decrease chemical usage during farming operations and safeguard both our bodies and planet.
Non-organic coffee often contains toxic chemicals like insecticides, herbicides and fungicides linked to cancer, reproductive issues and nervous system disorders. These toxins seep into soil and waterways contaminating them as well as entering our bodies where they become part of body fat storage systems.
Organic farms strictly forgo chemical pesticides and manures such as sewage sludge to fertilize crops and control pests, instead opting for natural methods like composting and natural methods of control such as crop rotation to fertilize their fields and protect their produce. Approved organic pesticides must also have low risks to applicators, consumers and any off-target plants or animals.
Organic coffee is often grown under shade, promoting forest preservation and limiting soil erosion. Furthermore, its cultivation seems to support healthy ecosystems by encouraging bird populations that act as natural pest controls while fertilizing the beans naturally.
Organic growing standards for coffee are stringent; to meet them, the USDA must certify a crop as having been grown on land that was free from synthetic pesticides or other prohibited substances for three years prior to harvest. Organic farms also employ crop rotation strategies in order to prevent depleting nutrients in soil or the appearance of harmful diseases that could otherwise threaten production.
Organic certification isn’t mandatory for coffee growers, but it serves as an indicator of quality products. Some farmers opt to certify their products as organic because it’s the right thing to do; others don’t yet hold this title but employ sustainable farming techniques using only natural fertilizers such as used coffee cherries in their crop production process.
Healthier
Certified organic coffee crops must be produced without using pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers in their cultivation. Instead, crop rotation techniques enrich the soil while simultaneously protecting it from repopulating with harmful insects that pollute the environment – making for healthier beans for future consumption!
Organic farming processes are also more beneficial for workers and local animals alike, due to synthetic pesticides being known to have detrimental health effects on humans as well as animals. Furthermore, this form of agriculture does not promote deforestation as conventional coffee does – instead providing shelter and sustenance to birds that prey upon insects that threaten crops.
Organic coffee can also help protect cells and help fight off diseases by offering more antioxidants than its counterpart, regular coffee. Furthermore, its higher fiber content promotes digestive health as it stimulates hydrochloric acid and gastrin production that aid digestion processes.
Organic coffee offers numerous health and environmental advantages over its conventional counterpart, and one of them should be the top of your priority list: it is better for both you and the planet! Conventional coffee contains harmful toxins which are detrimental to both you and the environment, while organic is far more eco-friendly while still tasting just as great (if not better!) than its conventional counterpart and packed with antioxidants which can help prevent various diseases. Plastic pods should also be avoided as these have been linked with mycotoxins as well as contain hormone disrupting chemicals such as bisphenol F and S, along with microplastics – one reason alone should make up this decision!