Organic coffee

Organic coffee is coffee that has been grown according to organic farming standards and techniques, without the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.

Many producers^[who?] exclusively use the three main coffee certifications: shade-grown, organic, and Fair Trade.^{[citation needed]} They do this in an effort to create a more environmentally and socially responsible product as well as to market it to more affluent socially responsible consumers^{[citation needed]}.

The term organic can also refer to farms, or products from them which incorporate socially responsible activities such as recycling, composting, soil health and environmental protections.

Organic producers

The primary producer and exporter of organic coffee is the South American nation of Peru.^[1] Mexico and Ethiopia are also major producers of the coffee.^{[citation needed]} According to the center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education in Costa Rica (CATIE), 75% of the world's organic coffee comes from Latin America, and that 10% of growers have reverted to conventional production due to price competition.^[2]

In order to be sold as organic coffee in the U.S. it must gain organic certification and meet the following requirements:

• Grown on land without synthetic pesticides or other prohibited substances for 3 years.
• A sufficient buffer exists between the organic coffee and the closest conventional crop.
• Sustainable crop rotation plan to prevent erosion, the depletion of soil nutrients, and control for pests.^{[citation needed]}

The effects of organic coffee on the environment

Organic agriculture stimulates the environment’s natural development of disease and pest control. Because much organic coffee is shade grown, large amounts of forest may be preserved. This preservation has many additional benefits: minimizing soil erosion, preserving habitat, especially for birds; further, the leaves from the trees and bird droppings naturally fertilize the soil. Birds also control pests by eating insects that eat the leaves of coffee plants.

The organic coffee market

The initial amount of capital needed to grow an organic coffee crop is less than traditional because it does not require up front purchase of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. It typically yields a smaller crop and thus the farms tend to make less money relative to the size of the farm. In 2006, 67,000 metric tons of organic coffee were sold in the world ^[3], while world coffee consumption, including both organic and non-organic coffee was estimated at approximately 6,900,000 metric tons in 2005 ^[4].

See also

• Economics of coffee
• Coffea

Notes

1. ^ http://www.peru.com/economiayfinanzas/portada20100420/92400/Cafe-peruano-obtiene-premio-como-el-mejor-del-mundo-en-Estados-Unidos---
2. ^ Fieser, Ezra (Dec. 29, 2009). "Organic coffee: Why Latin America's farmers are abandoning it". CS Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/0103/Organic-coffee-Why-Latin-America-s-farmers-are-abandoning-it. Retrieved 5 January 2010. 
3. ^ Facts about organic coffee
4. ^ Tutor2u.net, Coffee Economics

External links

• Organic Trade Association