Coffee

Coffee has the second largest turnover among merchandise in the entire world (oil being the largest). As such it can really make a difference what we choose when we buy coffee.

Poisonous pesticides are used on 70% of all coffee plantations. Two of the most common pesticides are paraquat and lindane. Paraquat is acutely toxic and is considered extremely unhealthy. Exposure to even small doses can cause damage to your liver, lungs and kidneys. Exposure to lindane causes damage to the nervous system and may cause cancer. Those chemicals are forbidden in Sweden and the EU, but they are still used in countries producing the Swedish national drink coffee. For example, one of the largest health hazards in Brasil are illnesses caused by pesticedes. An estimated 200 000 persons are afflicted in this country alone.

There is an organisation working for better environmental policies and a fair treatment of workers in the trade. You can check out the 4c-coffeeassociation website.

Luckily, finding organic coffe is quite easy, at least in Sweden. Many brands have a choice of different organic beans and blends and lots of times it's fair trade as well. So it should be easy to find an organic version that you like.

There is a fantastic website where you can find out everything you need to know about coffe; Kaffeinformation. They don't get into the problems with farming but are more of a general information site.