Coffee

Coffee is the most traded commodity in the world after oil and illegal drugs. However during the past decade, prices paid to coffee farmers fell to a 30-year low with as little as 3 cents from a $3 cup of coffee reaching the farmers who grew the beans. Worldwide, 25 million small-scale farmers and their families have been affected. This is to be contrasted with continuing profits in the billions, for companies such as Nestle, Kraft and Sara Lee. In 2010, Nestle, the worlds biggest food company, recorded a net profit of 34.2 billion francs (AUD $34.8 billion), three times the 10.4 billion francs it earned in 2009.

Organic systems recognise that our health is directly connected to the health of the food we eat and ultimately, to the health of the soil. Organic farmers aim to produce good food from a balanced living soil. They severely restrict the use of synthetic chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers. Animals are reared without the routine use of drugs including synthetic growth hormones, antibiotics and wormers, which are commonly used in intensive livestock farming.

Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world. It is highly addictive and causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms (headaches being the most common) if you stop drinking it suddenly. Most people get their caffeine fixes from coffee and tea, but it is also present in cola drinks, energy drinks and chocolate (the darker the chocolate, the more caffeine it contains). Caffeine is a strong diuretic and can cause insomnia, tremors and reduced fertility in men. It's bad news for pregnant women too.   [more]