Buy organic coffee regularly
Why This is Green
For many of us, a cup of coffee in the morning (and, um, subsequent others throughout the day) is a crucial part of our daily routine. Organic coffee is both an earth- and health-friendly choice, and is easy to find in grocery stores as well as coffee shops—big and small.
Conventional coffee is heavily treated with pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers. These are harmful to air, water, farm workers, wildlife, and, soil. It adds up; by some estimates coffee is the second most widely traded global commodity after oil. When we drink it, we sip residues. Certified organic coffee isn’t allowed to be sprayed with these chemicals, and organic plantations must rotate crops to prevent erosion and the depletion of soil nutrients.
Other excellent designations you might see on coffee include Fair Trade and Shade Grown. The former covers wages and labor conditions (though the farming methods used tend to be very sustainable), the latter signifies that no bird habitat was destroyed to farm coffee. Neither are necessarily also certified organic. Look for the seal if USDA organic is what you want.
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How To
Organic coffee is often more expensive than conventional versions. For all of the aforementioned reasons, it’s worth it. Natural food markets tend to have private label options that are less expensive.
Buying in bulk can also save cash—either online or via Costco; they’ve partnered with Starbucks to offer bulk organic beans.
Brewing your own organic coffee and taking it on the go in a reusable thermos reduces price and garbage.
