Coffee, possibly the most analyzed beverage in history, has been demonstrated to run the health scale from wonder drug to poison. Why is so much attention paid to this drink? Probably because Americans consume over 20% of all coffee produced throughout the world. Next to oil, it is the most widely traded commodity on earth.

“Overall, the research shows that coffee is far more healthful than it is harmful,” says Tomas DePaulis, PhD, research scientist at Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Coffee Studies. “For most people, very little bad comes from drinking it, but a lot of good.” Full disclosure warrants the notation that the institute was founded with a grant from countries that produce coffee.

Dr. James Lane is a psycho physiologist at the Duke University Medical Center. He has spent over 25 years studying the effects of caffeine. He finds that, “the experimental studies and the [observational] studies are in very sharp disagreement about whether caffeine is healthy or not. There are some groups of people who are predisposed to get high blood pressure and heart disease and for them, caffeine might be harmful over time.”

“The evidence is very strong that regular coffee consumption reduces risk of Parkinson’s disease and for that, it’s directly related to caffeine,” DePaulis reports. “In fact, Parkinson’s drugs are now being developed that contains a derivative of caffeine based on this evidence.”

So, what are we to believe? The pendulum appears to be swinging towards findings in favor of the consumption of coffee. Wholesale users can take heart in the fact that researchers at Harvard and the University of Madrid studied data on more than 100,000 people over a 20-year span. Their conclusion was that the more coffee they drank, the less likely they were to die during that period, from any cause. Six cups a day reduced the risk of stroke in women who have never smoked by 43%, lowered the risk of Alzheimer’s by 65% in men and lowered men’s risk of advanced prostate cancer. On the other hand, more than 2 cups doubled the risk of miscarriage in a San Francisco study of pregnant women.

Another significant health aspect is whether or not it makes sense to consider purchasing organic coffee beans over those grown conventionally. As gourmet coffee roasters are demanding more organic Fair Trade coffee, the price is now much more in line with the heavily sprayed alternatives. Organic coffee bean consumption has increased worldwide as awareness of the devastating effects of harsh chemicals on streams and rivers, the soil and animals increases.

Over the last 30 years, as demand for coffee has increased, sun grown systems have been developed that can triple the production of a coffee tree. This has significantly reduced the price of wholesale coffee. However, they require the use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides to protect this unnatural environment from insects and disease. Even though “shade grown” coffee produces lower yields, the benefits over deforesting huge swaths of land are enormous.

Ultimately, the question of whether or not drinking coffee is good for your health and that of the planet comes down to personal preference. There are upsides and downsides to coffee like virtually everything else we eat and drink. It now appears you can enjoy a hot cup of organic Fair Trade coffee without guilt.

Coffee used to be well, just plain coffee. You could order it with cream and/or sugar and that was pretty much the extent of the considerations. Now, the variation of terms bandied about is endless: organic coffee, gourmet coffee roasters who use only gourmet coffee beans, dark roast coffee, French roast and Arabica beans. There is also the place of origin: Ethiopia, Kona, Mocha, Sumatra and Uganda. Given the current rate of global warming, Tundra can’t be far behind. 

Then, there is Fair Trade coffee. Fair Trade certification originated in the Netherlands in 1988 after a significant drop in wholesale coffee prices around the world. During that period, there was an excess supply of coffee beans over demand. The price on world markets had plummeted so low that coffee farmers around the world were unable to earn anything close to a livable wage. By 1997, several other labeling certifications had evolved: Fair Trade Foundation, TransFair USA and Rattvisemarkt. They merged to become The Fair Trade Labeling Organization or FLO, which has been extended to include many types of agricultural products. 

In order to attain Fair Trade Certification for coffee, wholesale importers must adhere to certain standards. They must provide credit to farmers as well as offer transitional assistance to those who choose to produce an organic coffee bean crop. They must provide safe working conditions for all workers, pay a fair wage, allow no child labor and invest the Fair Trade premiums they receive into development projects such as medical care, environmental projects, training and scholarships. In return, they are guaranteed approximately $1.30 per pound for raw coffee beans as opposed to selling on the world market. When the world market price is higher (as it is now), they receive a premium above the market rate. Those growers who convert to organic farming methods receive an additional $.20 per pound. Since Fair Trade eliminates intermediary steps between the producer and consumer, often the retail price is quite similar. 

Fair Trade has its critics. The elimination of the middleman has removed many jobs from the market. Many believe that the Fair Trade label allows the retailer to mark up prices significantly, without a corresponding additional benefit to the growers. Also, the $1.30 per pound price was established in 1990 without regard for inflation. Now that global corporations such as McDonald’s, Starbuck’s and Proctor and Gamble have begun to promote the Fair Trade brand, smaller businesses oriented around labels such as “Fair Trade”, “Organic” and “Locally-Grown” are losing marketing ground. Clearly, there is little opportunity for price competition between a local coffee shop and Wal-Mart selling organic, Fair Trade coffee beans. However, taking these elements into consideration, few can effectively argue that Fair Trade has not been beneficial to small farms in remote parts of the world. 

Ultimately, Fair Trade coffee has leveled the field at least to some degree. In the regions where coffee is grown, there is more access to education and healthcare. Many of these services were previously non-existent. Children of farmers are now in school instead of working on the farms. As the demand for organic fair trade coffee has increased, the economic motivation has also raised the number of growers of organic coffee beans, helping to preserve fragile ecosystems. Fair Trade is not perfect, but is certainly a small price to pay for such overwhelming benefit to some of the world’s poorest nations. The next time you are drawn by that smell of roasting coffee beans, consider choosing Fair Trade coffee.