Here's a quick rundown of what organic means, and why I feel people should only consume organic coffee.

1) Organic goods may not be made from any synthetic chemicals.

2) No genetically manipulated plants or animals may be used in certified organic items.

3) Foods labeled 100% organic can only contain certified organic ingredients, except for water and salt.

4) Foods labeled organic must contain at least 95% organic certified ingredients, and the remaining 5% must be items

that are not available in an organic form.

5) Foods that are 100% Organic or Organic (95% organic) are allowed to display the USDA organic logo.

6) Agricultural products labeled "100 percent organic" and "organic" must not be produced using excluded methods, sewage sludge, or ionizing radiation.

The above is just a quick checklist of the USDA organic labeling regulations. Now that we have explored the definition of certified organic we can move onto the topic at hand. Looking back at the previously mentioned definition of "certified organic" we know that organic coffee has to contain at least 95% organic beans.

You may be pondering, "who cares if my coffee was grown organically?" well here's a few reasons:

1) Not withstanding what you feel about standard farming practices, can you imagine drinking non-organic coffee treated with sewage sludge?

2) One of my most endearing comforts with the USDA organic certification is no gene splicing business.

3) If you don't like the buzz of real coffee then only drink organic decaffeinated coffee, or don't drink coffee at all. Conventional decaffeinated coffees are processed using carcinogenic organic solvents such as methylene chloride and ethyl acetate. Certified organic decaf. coffees are decaffeinated by a water method. A lot of

studies indicate that drinking decaf. leads to rheumatoid arthritis. More studies need to be conducted to compare traditional (chemical decaf.) and water processed decaf.

4) Pesticides and herbicides can be lethal in high doses. Most coffee is grown in primarily poor places in the world, and many farmers can't understand herbicide and pesticide warning labels, leading to erroneous mixing of chemicals, and therefore, toxic exposure for them and the environment.

I could go on and on about why you may want to consider to only purchase organic coffee. It goes way beyond the coffee itself. A lot of toxins are released in the making of non-organic chemicals.

As a closing thought, farmers that cultivate their coffees organically are paying special attention to the natural needs of their coffee, resulting in high quality coffee that tastes great! I don't care if you think I'm just trying to promote my agenda, or promote your good health, please give organic coffee a try and pass the word.