People often buy organic fruits and vegetables because they don’t want pesticides in their food. However, they don’t think about the tea they drink. There are many reasons to drink organic teas.
Tea may be considered a healthier alternative to soda or high-sugar fruit squash, but is it? The FDA has found that imported, non-organic teas often contain levels of pesticides that exceed government safety limits. Some pesticides found present have also been banned in the U.S.
Organic Tea Is Ethical and Pure
Large-scale organic tea distributors sell affordable tea that doesn’t contain pesticides, so consumers can be sure that what they are drinking is safe. Some studies have shown that they provide more antioxidants than intensively farmed tea. Organic tea is the ethical choice as the farming methods protect wildlife and the environment.
Non-organic Tea Is Toxic
Non-organic teas regularly contain high quantities of pesticide that are then consumed by the unsuspecting public. The pesticides include permethrin (a carcinogen and hormone disruptor), heptachlor epoxide (banned due to its cancer-causing ability) and DDT (banned in the 70s for causing infertility and cancer). Major tea-producing countries, such as India and China, do not have the same health and safety regulations as the U.S.
More than half of branded, non-organic teas tested contain levels of pesticide that are too high.
Non-organic Tea Kills Bees
Non-organic tea may contain the pesticide acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid that stays on the leaf of the plant and kills bees when they ingest it. It also kills butterflies, birds, and other wildlife. Bees pollinate crops, and 80% of U.S crops are dependent on pollination. Soybeans, sunflowers, citrus fruits, broccoli, and avocados are just some food that needs pollination. Bees even pollinate coffee plants, increasing the crop and benefiting small farms.
Buying organic food helps conserve the world’s bees and food crops. It is also subjected to fair trade, guaranteeing a decent wage for the workers who produce it.
