Coffee

Some things I take very personally.

Salon's Samuel Fromartz asks "Is this the end of organic coffee?" (via Avedon Carol):

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly released a ruling that alarmed organic certifiers and groups who work with third-world farmers. The decision tightens organic certification requirements to such a degree that it could sharply curtail the ability of small grower co-ops to produce organic coffee — not to mention organic bananas, cocoa, sugar and even spices. Kimberly Easson, director of strategic relationships for TransFair USA, the fair trade certification group, puts it bluntly: "This ruling could wipe out the organic coffee market in the U.S."

TransFair USA is not the only organization sounding the alarm. In the past week, I spoke with nonprofits, businesses and organic certifiers, all of whom are concerned that the USDA ruling will catastrophically raise costs for small-scale producers of organic goods and likely push them back into conventional commodity markets.

Might be a good time to stock up on the good stuff while we try to get this ruling overruled. Here are a couple of my favorite suppliers of organic, fair-trade coffees:

• Equal Exchange

• Pura Vida

And here are dozens more from the National Green Pages.