Editorial: Coffee and sandwiches

January 26, 2018

Some of life’s delights, coffee, the morning transfusion, and sandwiches, the staple of lunch and many breakfasts, made news this week.

On America’s Left coast, a state judge in Los Angeles is expected to rule soon whether coffee should be labeled carcinogenic under California’s 1986 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act meant to warn Californians of potential harm.

At the University of Manchester in Great Britain, scientists say sandwiches cause global warming. For everyone’s enjoyment, they don’t recommend banning them — just changing them.

Research in the  British Journal of Sustainable Production and Consumption says the humble sandwich may be responsible for the equivalent annual carbon emissions of 8.6 million vehicles in Great Britain alone.

The global warming alarm stems from ingredients, with meat in general of course, and pork in particular, along with cheese, prawns, lettuce and tomatoes getting the bulk of blame. Along with bread and condiments, these ingredients may account for an estimated 37%-67% of CO2. Then there is packaging which makes up 8½% of emissions, transportation (particularly refrigerated trucks) 4% and refrigeration at point of sale another 25%.

The British Sandwich Association says the United Kingdom spends $11.3 billion annually on 11.5 billion sandwiches, half of which are made at home, which produce less CO2. Sandwiches from shops, supermarkets, kiosks and service stations have the largest CO2 footprint, with packaged, all-day breakfast sandwiches of eggs, bacon and sausage having the great amount overall because they’re refrigerated until sold and eaten. The smallest footprint is a homemade ham and cheese sandwich. Homemade sandwiches potentially halves CO2 emissions.

The Manchester researchers say changing recipes and packaging and reducing waste could result in a 50% drop in sandwich related carbon emissions, and reforming the sell-by-date system may save more than 2,000 tons of sandwiches wasted each year in the UK.

On the coffee front, a Wall Street Journal story says coffee is on the hot seat because of acrylamide, a flavorless chemical produced during the roasting process, one of more than 900 chemicals on a list of carcinogens in California said to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. Businesses serving coffee must post warning of the chemicals under the law, Proposition 65.

The chemical is also used for industrial processes in making paper and dyes. It’s also created during the cooking of many baked and fried foods, including potato chips and french fries.

Starbucks and Keurig Green Mountain say trace amounts of acrylamide in coffee are harmless and outweighed by coffee’s health benefits.

Other items California deems carcinogenic are wood furniture, office chairs, ceramic plates, snow globes, balsamic vinegar, whole leaf aloe vera, leprechaun hats, black licorice, new cars, cacao nibs, smoked oysters, smoked baby clams, potato chips and french fries.

While coffee may be harmful, a quick internet search lists many health benefits. It increases memory, lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and women who drink two-three cups a day are 15% less likely to be depressed, according to a 2011 report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Coffee revs metabolism, aiding in weight loss. Chlorogenic acid in coffee is also linked with lowering glucose absorption, ensuring sugar is flushed, and coffee lowers diabetes risk by 50% according to some medical journals, while increasing energy and strengthens endurance.

A study by the Journal of the American Medical Association says it also helps prevent Parkinson’s disease and gout in middle-aged men, and a 2005 Harvard study says coffee contains higher levels of antioxidants than the majority of fruits and vegetables and can postpone or avert breast cancer in women with a family history of estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer. Another Harvard study recommends men drink both caffeinated and decaf coffee to lower the risk of prostate cancer.

Cream and sugar in coffee may cancel many of its health benefits. Moderation in drinking coffee is also advised.

http://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_8752b26a-02ae-11e8-bb1c-479ccc4beea9.html