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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Why Organic Coffee is So Important

A girl I used to know in New York City was so fanatical about recycling that she would literally take empty bottles home from bars because she feared that they would be tossed in the garbage.

I’ll never forget the time when we were out one night and she started filling up her designer handbag with empty beer bottles, which weren’t even hers!  She was that committed to the environment.

Yet, when she drank her coffee each morning, organic coffee was never even a consideration.

Although I didn’t realize it at the time, this didn’t make much sense.  Why?

Because conventionally-grown coffee is incredibly unhealthy for people and the planet.

* In terms of chemicals, coffee is one of the most heavily treated crops of any agricultural commodity.

* In order to mass produce coffee, traditional growers often clear wide swaths of land, predominantly in the rainforest, where the crops receive direct sunlight all-day.  This all-day exposure to the sun weakens the immune system of the coffee crops and makes them more vulnerable to pests and insects.

Hence, it is one of the reasons that coffee requires such large amounts of pesticides and insecticides.  This also explains why shade is very important.

* Many of these pesticides and insecticides sprayed directly on the crops end up in the coffee that people drink on a daily basis and therefore harm our bodies.  These chemicals also cause damage to the soil and pollute the local water supply.

Furthermore, workers who have tremendous exposure to these chemicals suffer greatly.  Flower growers in Ecuador are a prime example of this.

* When the beans are harvested, they are washed with water.  This water, which now contains many different toxic chemicals, is released back into streams, rivers or whatever source it came from, possibly the soil.

* The clearing of fragile rainforests, where coffee is grown, represents an incredibly serious threat to global warming.  Read what Tom Friedman of the New York Times has to say about this.

Over the last forty years or so, approximately 2/3rds of the rainforest in Central America and Mexico has disappeared.

My apologies for all the bad news…..but here’s the good news.

* Organic farmers do not use harmful or super-toxic chemicals on their coffee crops.  The coffee that you drink is as “clean” as possible.  This means you are not putting dangerous pesticides or insecticides into your body each morning.

* The lack of pesticides do not destroy the soil, a critical factor in the nutritional value of all organic food.

* Most organic coffee is shade-grown and this directly impacts taste.  According to Silvia Covelli, CEO of True Origin Organics and a member of the Organic Coffee Collaboration, “the best tasting coffees are the ones that are shade-grown.  This is because coffee is a very aromatic plant and absorbs all the flavors and aromas from surrounding trees, such as plantains, cacao and fruits.  The exotic aromas come out when not exposed to chemicals.”

* Organic farmers nurture the environment and minimize soil erosion through re-forestation, the use of ecological methods to control pests, the recirculation of water whenever possible and the propagation of different species of native trees, which also provides important refuge for migratory birds.

* When you buy organic coffee, you are supporting farmers in many third world countries who are committed to the environment and are helping to promote biodiversity.

Just as recycling glass bottles is important, so is the choice you make each morning at the coffee counter. For you and the planet.

While there are many, many brands of organic coffee and each person is partial to a specific flavor profile, one excellent company is Equal Exchange.

Click HERE for their fair trade, certified organic, whole bean breakfast blend.

A message from Tradin Organic

Why Tradin Organic is Prioritizing Regenerative Organic Farming

At Tradin Organic, we believe that regenerative organic farming is key to growing healthy and nutritious food ingredients — for now and for future generations.

And in Sierra Leone, we have grown the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified cacao.

Learn more.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

5 Essential Ways to Avoid Genetically-Modified Food (GMOs)

Recently, I got an e-mail from a reader asking how she would know if she is eating genetically-modified soy or not.

Figuring that many other people may have that same question, I wanted to explain how to avoid eating genetically-modified food (GMOs) and the things that you need to look out for.

#1 – Buy USDA Certified Organic Products  GMOs are prohibited in organic food. Therefore, look for products that contain the USDA certified organic seal.

Even though GMOs are prohibited in organic, organic crops can be contaminated by GMOs through cross-pollination and drift. (That is why the proliferation of GMOs is a real threat to organic farming. The co-existence of GM-crops and organic crops is simply not possible, despite what our government would like us to believe.)

USDA rules require that organic certifiers test samples from at least 5% of the operations they certify on an annual basis.

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A message from E3Live

"My Everyday, Must-Have Green Organic Aquabotanical"

The best testimonial that I can give is that I drink this every single day, as it impacts my mood in an incredibly positive way.

E3Live + BrainON is certified organic, fresh-frozen AFA (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) with a concentrated, aqueous, organic extract of Phenylethylamine and Phycocyanin.

Learn more.

Organic Insider

Better Choices

Study: Organic Grains Offer Superior Nutrition than Conventional or “Natural”

True, organic is slightly more expensive. This is primarily because it is not subsidized by the government in the same way that conventional food is.

But what rarely gets mentioned is that organic also offers superior nutrition.

In two research reports recently completed by The Organic Center, which examined the nutritional differences of organically farmed grains compared to “natural” and conventional varieties, the authors concluded that commercially produced organic breads are more nutrient-rich, contain more whole food ingredients and have fewer preservatives and additives than conventional breads.

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Living Maxwell

Better Choices

Have We Been Misled? 5 Organic Foods That Should Make You Think Twice

I spend an inordinate amount of time learning about the healthiest and newest organic food products available. Through my research at the various trade shows — most notably, Natural Products Expo East and Natural Products Expo West —  talking to industry contacts, roaming supermarket aisles, speaking with as many well-informed food people as I can and reading books, I have come to the following conclusion:

You can take almost any food in the world and some health expert will have something good to say about it while a different health expert will have something bad to say about it.

So, what I do is educate myself as much as I can and then make my own decision about whether I should be eating it or not.

The following five organic foods seem to be the most controversial. While books could be written on all of the foods below and by no means am I covering all of the pros/cons of each, I will try to highlight the most salient points.

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livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink