Organic Coffee Really is Better for You and Baby
Americans consume over 3 billion pounds of coffee a year.1 As demand for coffee has significantly increased, conventional farming methods have become mainstream to keep up with mass consumption. To help you understand how this affects you, your body, your baby, and the environment – we want to describe both the conventional method and organic method of coffee bean farming2.
CONVENTIONAL
Conventional coffee farming yields one of the most chemically treated crops in the world. Conventional farming allows for the use of pesticides3, fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides3. Below we will share more about these chemicals and their impacts on your health, and ultimately the health of your baby.
Conventional farms are larger and held to lower standards than organic farms. This basically means the farm does not follow a very strict process, set of rules, or guidelines to grow, raise, harvest and export the beans. The cost to run a farm of this nature is lower, since visits and certifications from the respective agencies and groups that check to make sure the farm is living up to the standards placed upon it are not required.
Conventional farms are often densely planted for mass production. In addition, land is often purchased, cleared and then planted with this amazing shade plant. The problem is: the vastly planted crops in cleared fields end up growing in full sun, which is not the “native” growing conditions for the coffee plant.
In order to grow coffee in mass, forests are cleared to grow in volume. When forests are cleared, this kills off all the natural flora, fauna, and also chases off the natural pest deterrents (birds, lizards, reptiles, etc.) needed in the native environment.
A portion of the chemicals used on the coffee plants end up in the air and water due to run off, which is often worsened since the land is typically cleared prior to mass plantings. These chemicals have now “treated” the coffee, and the runoff ends up in the drinking water for the surrounding villages, which is toxic and impacts the immediate health of those near the conventional coffee fields.
As mentioned above, we want to highlight just three of the pesticides commonly used on coffee beans:
- Methyl Parathyion4,5 is one of the most vile pesticides ever created, and is toxic to most living things–including humans. It is a flammable liquid, fatal if swallowed, toxic if contacted to the skin, may cause damage to the organs through prolonged or repeated exposure, and very toxic to aquatic life. Associated diseases and disorders: premature births, central nervous system disorders, chromosome breakage, peripheral nervous system disorders, and poisoning.
- Endosulfan6 is toxic and takes a very long time to break down in the soil. It carries with it many of the same risks as methyl parathyion. The associated diseases and disorders are: motor disorders, chronic kidney diseases, hematologic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and emphysema.
- Chlorpyrifos7 is banned for household use in the U.S. It is a known cause for birth defects. It carries many of the same safety and hazards as the chemicals above. The problem is the coffee bean plant is now potentially “triple dipped” in just the use of these three chemicals. The big problem here is the associated disorders and diseases, which include: spontaneous abortion, autism spectrum disorder, congenital abnormalities, atrophy and food addiction.
The list of chemicals used in the conventional method is long. The three chemicals listed above are certainly more than enough to know the dangers associated with coffee harvested during this type of conventional coffee bean farming. Knowing that these chemicals are used in conventional coffee farming is reason enough for you to avoid any coffee that is not organic at all times. For your health, and the health of your baby, conventional coffee that is not organically farmed should never be consumed.
So, let’s turn to the bright side … organically farmed coffee!
ORGANIC
There are no synthetic fertilizers used with organic coffee farming. This method includes the use of coffee pulp, chicken manure, organic fertilizers and compost to help feed and nourish the plants. This approach yields a crop of beans that are 'clean' and full of healthful antioxidants – rich in potassium and magnesium that end up in organic coffee.
These plants are often grown in their native shady environment and/or forests. These environments are more difficult to harvest and do require a higher level of care; ultimately yielding higher quality coffee plants and beans.
The natural ecosystems with organic coffee farming stay intact, and the ground is replenished naturally. The entire ecosystem in and around the plants are kept more pure since the habitats are not destroyed.
When the topography is not cleared or altered to grow the plants, there is very little to no runoff or soil erosion. This also allows for the naturally preserved land to withstand storms and other radical climate or weather systems more easily since the land is in its pure and original state.
In conclusion…
As demand increases and consumers opt for "cheaper" bags of coffee, they are supporting coffee makers and farmers who are not concerned about health. Instead, they are focused more on profit, land to be cleared, ecosystems to be destroyed, and villages to be adversely impacted to keep up with the choices made in the cafes and stores across the world.
Each time conventionally harvested coffee is consumed, we are unfortunately pouring chemicals into the cup, into our bodies, and ultimately the bloodstream of our babies. It is okay to continue to enjoy your morning cup of coffee, but we hope this information helps you make a healthy decision, and strongly consider only organic coffee! Ideally, decaffeinated organic coffee would be the choice, since there are dangers associated with caffeine for you and your baby.
And, of course, if your current daily routine includes decaffeinated coffee – which it should as a pregnant Momma (or if your goal is to become pregnant) – please be aware that the decaffeination process is laced with even more chemicals in the conventional world. Please consider learning more about the patented Swiss-Water Process of decaffeination, the Gold Standard for chemical-free removal of caffeine – and perfect for those who wish to enjoy coffee during pregnancy and throughout breastfeeding.
