06/08/2007 05:32
The Coffee Thing
Or
"Why I decided to stop worshipping the bean and love the barley"Murse Pete asked me why I've switched to Whole Earth No Caf rather than typical decaffeinated coffee, what advantages it has and how it tastes. Thanks, Pete, for giving me something to blog about!
HEALTH EFFECTS
The only non-industry sponsored study that I know of indicates that decaf coffee raises bad cholesterol. That's not a good thing!
The process of removing caffeine is chemical-laden. Chemicals--who needs 'em! I mean, don't we get enough just walking around breathing?! And guess what, the 'Swiss Water No Chemical' process some people rapsodize about uses a lot of water. And coffee is already a thirsty venture.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
One of the many reasons I became a vegan is to reduce my impact on the alarming depletion of our natural resources. To sustain a modern Western lifestyle, the entire planet is going dry. If you don't believe me, read When the Rivers Run Dry: Water--The Defining Crisis of the 21st Century by Fred Pearce. You probably don't know this, but coffee growth and production requires more water than any other food crop. Basically, it takes 140 liters of water to produce enough coffee beans to make one cup of brewed coffee. If you aren't familiar with this concept of virtual water, here's a quick introduction. I became a vegetarian, amongst many other reasons, when I realized (through the enlightening comparisons used by John Robbins in his wonderful books) that I would save the planet more water, literally, by not eating a quarter-pound beef burger than I would save by not showering for an entire six months. Think that one over! But a fat lot of good it would do me to stop eating beef then suck down cup after cup of coffee.
SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN REASONS
There's been a lot of talk lately about fair trade coffee. Okay, fair trade might sometimes work, but there may be a bigger issue here. Did it ever occur to you that if coffee farmers, their underpaid workers and sometimes even slaves, weren't using up their land and precious resources to provide your fat, coddled, flabby, overindulged Western butt with coffee, sugar and chocolate, they could use that land and those resources to actually feed themselves? Fair trade or otherwise, I'm still putting my self-indulgence above their basic human rights if my cup of coffee or my cheap Hershey bar or that spoonful of sugar means other human beings are forced to grow these useless crops and then go hungry. (If you don't think they are forced to by economic and political pressures, you are being shockingly naive).
About the alternate. Whole Earth No Caf is the first product I've tried as a coffee substitute. It tastes bitter and makes a passable substitute for coffee, particularly if sweetened with a touch of agave nectar. It doesn't have the coffee aroma, though. The grains used to make the beverage are grown in Italy, which is a lot closer to me than Ethiopia, so that helps with the whole carbon footprint thing. It's organic--no chemicals. I have no data on its virtual water value, but hope since it's a company with a conscience it would be relatively low, at least lower than coffee I hope! There are other grain beverages I intend to try after this container is used up.
The reason the No Caf product is openly touted as vegetarian/ vegan is that in order to be vegan friendly, there has to be no animal products at all in any aspect of processing. Ever wondered why refined sugar isn't marked as a vegan product? It's because charred animal bones are used in the refining process. Just because something originally grows out of the ground doesn't mean some animals haven't died to get it to your plate. You must be vigilant, and believe me, there are vegans and vegetarians out there who are very informed and who will not buy a product if they suspect it isn't REALLY animal-cruelty or animal-anything free!
I'm knackered now, the sweat from my workout is dried and I can only hope this doesn't disappear when I try to post it.