Commercial Coffee Shops

 I know that all of us love to get our cheap coffees at Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts. I am about to break the news none of us really wants to hear; both coffee companies really suck!
We'll start things off with the truth about Starbucks.

 

 Starbucks might claim that they're environmentally aware and ethically sourced, and yet none of their coffees are fair trade certified. If you look at their website all you can find is what they want you to know, there is no mention as to where their coffee is sourced and what pesticides might have been used.
Their milk is from large commercial farms and is said to be GM (genetically modified)! Starbucks does have an organic choice, soy milk. Organic soy milk might seem like the way to go, but this soy milk has an ingredient called carrageenan that's derived from red algae. Carrageenan is reported to cause intestinal inflammation and can become a carcinogen once digested. Caramel frappuccinos contain something called caramel color. This "caramel" isn't like homemade caramel created by cooking sugar, this caramel is created by heating ammonia and sulfites under high pressure which creates a carcinogen. Caramel color is classified in four different categories, the one labeled on the Starbucks frappucino is class IV which is the worst. According to Wikipedia: "Internationally, JECFA has set the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of Class I caramel color as "not specified"; that of Class II as 0–160 mg/kg body weight; that of Class III as 0–200 mg/kg body weight; and that of Class IV as 0–200 mg/kg body weight.[12]"
Though Starbucks claims to have "high quality simple ingredients" many of their foods have over 70 ingredients!
Sign the petition to have Starbucks serve only organic non GMO milk here.

Dunkin' Donuts is partially owned by J.M. Smucker Company. There is no information whatsoever about their coffee sources, but it's suspected to come from Brazil, Guatemala, and probably Colombia. It is most probably all sun grown pesticide laden coffee beans. Not only are they contributing to bird and wildlife deaths, but also to the destruction of the rainforest. All their food is GMO and can fill a page with all their ingredients! Dunkin' Donuts is really a coffee company best avoided! If you are going to buy something from one of these coffee shops, or anywhere else, I highly stress the need to read the label. A helpful tip to remember is if you can't pronounce the ingredient, don't eat it!