Coffee health and ethics

Coffee growing in Goias, Brazil

With it being April Fool's Day, I should flex my creative muscles, come up with some fantastic story and post it here. Or, with it being Easter Monday, I should write about Easter eggs (both the real and the "copycat" chocolate kind). In fact there is an interesting piece of news I came across yesterday relating to the ranking of chocolate Easter egg manufacturers according to their use of (unsustainable) palm oil. But I will follow my intuition and, instead, write about coffee.

I do love my quality and responsibly-sourced cup of coffee, and I am always interested to hear more about what effects it might be having on my body, as well as about where coffee comes from, how it is grown and what social and environmental effects the cultivation of coffee has. I am a regular at Monmouth Coffee Company in Covent Garden. It is my "creative haunt", as I have come to see it. I just came across this interesting, if superficial Alternet article on the (potential) good and bad effects of coffee on health/the human body: "10 things coffee does to your body". Makes an interesting read for those of us who are coffee lovers (or haters), and possibly gives us one more reason to drink coffee...responsibly.

What's in a "foodie"?

Having thought a lot about whether I might be called a "foodie", and feeling uncomfortable about being labelled as such, I started thinking about why I feel uncomfortable with the term and what it really means (to me).

I think it is safe to say that when we think of a "foodie", we think of somebody who is almost obsessed with great food, who has the level of interest and takes the time to learn about it, often going to great lengths and expense to get their hands on top quality ingredients, to cook and/or enjoy (and probably be served) a tasty meal. Nothing wrong with that. There are worse things to be obsessed with! However, as implied above, it is inevitable that a foodie is normally comparatively well-off and, let's be honest, a bit of a "food snob" (which is probably a term that requires its own analysis!). There will always be dishes that a foodie will not touch or places that a foodie will not eat at, because it would literally be a sign of "bad taste". And this is precisely what bothers me about the term. The term "foodie" is in itself, firstly, exclusive, and secondly, narrow-minded. My aim here is therefore to make a particular point related to the "democratisation" of food. Bear with me while I explain...

Vote with your food

Calling you - yes, you - to vote with your food! Where is your food vote going at the moment? Inform yourself about what you are putting in your mouth - not only for nature's sake, but also for the sake of your and your loved ones' health and quality of life. What exactly are you supporting when you are buying your food? Dig deeper, past the greenwash if there is any. (I for one will be contacting Sainsbury's to ask them about their sourcing for their organic produce.)

Nobody puts the power that is in our hands - or rather, our mouths and stomachs (!) - into words any better than my oft-quoted favourite author Carolyn Steel:

"How food shapes our lives in the future is up to us. Whoever you are and wherever you live, we can make choices that together would make an enormous cumulative difference.