Coffee and Chocolate: Choose Organic, Fair Trade, Shade
by David Wortman | Oct 24 '03
Coffee and chocolate are two dependable daily pleasures that often go together. And recent research shows that chocolate may help reduce high blood pressure. Although one fifth of all coffee and a similar amount of chocolate are consumed in the U.S., they are mainly grown in Africa, Latin America and Asia, often in conditions harmful to workers, wildlife and the environment.
Until the 1970s, both coffee and cacao, the chocolate seed, were grown under the protective shade of the rain-forest canopy. Today, almost half of all coffee and an increasing share of cacao from Latin America are "full-sun" grown by clearing rain forests and using large doses of chemicals and fertilizers to force higher yields. But full-sun coffee plantations have 94 to 97 percent fewer bird species than shade plantations, and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) has found as much insect diversity in shaded cacao plantations as in lowland rain forest.
A 2000 survey by the Guatemalan Commission for the Verification of Codes of Conduct estimated that nearly half of workers on Guatemalan coffee plantations, 8.6 percent of whom are 18 years old or younger, were paid less than that country's minimum wage. Many live in unsanitary conditions without access to health care. And, according to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, nearly 300,000 children endure dangerous working conditions on West African cacao farms.
Coffee and Chocolate Labels to Look For
* "Certified Organic"
* "Fair Trade Certified" ensures that companies pay farmers fair prices. More than 100 U.S. coffee companies have licensing agreements with TransFair, including Starbucks, Peet's and Green Mountain. Yet fair trade coffee still represents less than one percent of Starbucks' total coffee sales. The largest chocolate manufacturers, including Mars and Nestle, have yet to go fair trade.
* Certified "Shade Grown" includes SMBC's "Bird Friendly," Audubon and Rainforest Alliance's shade-grown labels.
* Triple certified—"Organic," "Shade Grown" and "Fair Trade"—products are the ideal but currently hard to find.
Cafe Canopy's triple certified French Roast ($10.50/12 oz.; www.cafecanopy.com; 888-299-1147)
CHOCOLATE
La Siembra Group's Cocoa Camino (www.lasiembra.com/home.htm; 613-235-6122) hot chocolate, chocolate bars. Buy at globalexchange.org, www.serrv.org and www.chocosphere.com.
Green & Black's and Maya Gold Chocolate $3.50-$4 for a 100-gram bar (www.greenandblacks.com)
Equal Exchange (see above) hot-cocoa mix ($6 for a 12-oz. can)
See Coffee and Chocolate product reports at www.thegreenguide.com.
Pablo Honey.......I found the lyrics for your blogs themesong but can't find the mp3.........YET. ENJOY!
Artist Captain Beefheart Lyrics Album Trout Mask Replica Title The Blimp Song Lyrics Master master This is recorded thru uh flies ear 'n you have t' have uh flies eye t' see it It's the thing that's gonna make Captain Beefheart And his magic band fat Frank it's the big hit It's the blimp It's the blimp Frank It's the blimp
When I see you flo tin' down the gutter I'll give you uh bottle uh wine Put me on the white hook Back in the fat rack Shad rack ee shack The sumptin' hoop the sumptin' hoop The blimp the blimp The drazy hoops the drazy hoops They're camp they're camp Tits tits the blimp the blimp The mother ship the mother ship The brothers hid under their hood >From the blimp the blimp Children stop yer nu sin' unless yer renderin' fun The mother ship the mother ship The mother ship's the one The blimp the blimp The tapes uh trip it's uh trailin' tail It's traipse'n along behind the blimp the blimp The nose has uh crimp The nose is limp the blimp It blows the air the snoot isn't fair Look up in the sky there's uh dirigible there The drazy hoops whir You can see them just as they were All the people stir 'n the girls knees trembles 'n run 'n wave their hands 'n run their hands over the blimp the blimp Daughter don't yuh dare Oh momma who cares It's the blimp it's the blimp
Coffee and Chocolate: Choose Organic, Fair Trade, Shade
ReplyDeleteby David Wortman | Oct 24 '03
Coffee and chocolate are two dependable daily pleasures that often go together. And recent research shows that chocolate may help reduce high blood pressure. Although one fifth of all coffee and a similar amount of chocolate are consumed in the U.S., they are mainly grown in Africa, Latin America and Asia, often in conditions harmful to workers, wildlife and the environment.
Until the 1970s, both coffee and cacao, the chocolate seed, were grown under the protective shade of the rain-forest canopy. Today, almost half of all coffee and an increasing share of cacao from Latin America are "full-sun" grown by clearing rain forests and using large doses of chemicals and fertilizers to force higher yields. But full-sun coffee plantations have 94 to 97 percent fewer bird species than shade plantations, and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) has found as much insect diversity in shaded cacao plantations as in lowland rain forest.
A 2000 survey by the Guatemalan Commission for the Verification of Codes of Conduct estimated that nearly half of workers on Guatemalan coffee plantations, 8.6 percent of whom are 18 years old or younger, were paid less than that country's minimum wage. Many live in unsanitary conditions without access to health care. And, according to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, nearly 300,000 children endure dangerous working conditions on West African cacao farms.
Coffee and Chocolate Labels to Look For
* "Certified Organic"
* "Fair Trade Certified" ensures that companies pay farmers fair prices. More than 100 U.S. coffee companies have licensing agreements with TransFair, including Starbucks, Peet's and Green Mountain. Yet fair trade coffee still represents less than one percent of Starbucks' total coffee sales. The largest chocolate manufacturers, including Mars and Nestle, have yet to go fair trade.
* Certified "Shade Grown" includes SMBC's "Bird Friendly," Audubon and Rainforest Alliance's shade-grown labels.
* Triple certified—"Organic," "Shade Grown" and "Fair Trade"—products are the ideal but currently hard to find.
Here are a few:
COFFEE
Equal Exchange's Organic Breakfast Blend ($8/12 oz.; www.equalexchange.com; 781-830-0303)
Caffe Ibis's Organic Espresso Roast Blend ($9.49/12 oz.; www.caffeibis.com; 888-740-4777)
Grounds for Change Sumatra Roast ($8.95/12 oz.; www.groundsforchange.com; 800-796-6820)
Millstone Coffee ($7.99/10-12 oz.; www.millstone.com)
Cafe Canopy's triple certified French Roast ($10.50/12 oz.; www.cafecanopy.com; 888-299-1147)
CHOCOLATE
La Siembra Group's Cocoa Camino (www.lasiembra.com/home.htm; 613-235-6122) hot chocolate, chocolate bars. Buy at globalexchange.org, www.serrv.org and www.chocosphere.com.
Green & Black's and Maya Gold Chocolate $3.50-$4 for a 100-gram bar (www.greenandblacks.com)
Equal Exchange (see above) hot-cocoa mix ($6 for a 12-oz. can)
See Coffee and Chocolate product reports at www.thegreenguide.com.
JP
Pablo Honey.......I found the lyrics for your blogs themesong but can't find the mp3.........YET.
ReplyDeleteENJOY!
Artist
Captain Beefheart Lyrics
Album
Trout Mask Replica
Title
The Blimp
Song Lyrics
Master master
This is recorded thru uh flies ear
'n you have t' have uh flies eye t' see it
It's the thing that's gonna make Captain Beefheart
And his magic band fat
Frank it's the big hit
It's the blimp
It's the blimp Frank
It's the blimp
When I see you flo tin' down the gutter
I'll give you uh bottle uh wine
Put me on the white hook
Back in the fat rack
Shad rack ee shack
The sumptin' hoop the sumptin' hoop
The blimp the blimp
The drazy hoops the drazy hoops
They're camp they're camp
Tits tits the blimp the blimp
The mother ship the mother ship
The brothers hid under their hood
>From the blimp the blimp
Children stop yer nu sin' unless yer renderin' fun
The mother ship the mother ship
The mother ship's the one
The blimp the blimp
The tapes uh trip it's uh trailin' tail
It's traipse'n along behind the blimp the blimp
The nose has uh crimp
The nose is limp the blimp
It blows the air the snoot isn't fair
Look up in the sky there's uh dirigible there
The drazy hoops whir
You can see them just as they were
All the people stir
'n the girls knees trembles
'n run 'n wave their hands
'n run their hands over the blimp the blimp
Daughter don't yuh dare
Oh momma who cares
It's the blimp it's the blimp