When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Starbucks may be overated, but they hands down beat doughnut shops, gas stations, and the occasional bagel shop, not to mention coffee that comes in a can. My favorite coffee is Peets however I recently picked up a Starbucks Barista espresso machine - might have to put the drip machine away forever.
rBGH
… Monsanto¹s controversial genetically engineered recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, (rBGH) which is banned in every industrialized country in the world except for the USA, is currently injected into 10% of the nations dairy cows despite numerous concerns about the safety of its use.
… The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has admitted that the use of rBGH in cows may lead to increased amounts of pus and bacteria in milk. The powerful antibiotics used to fight the increased disease in rBGH injected cows may lead to greater antibiotic and chemical contamination of milk and dangerous resistance to antibiotics in the human population.
… Studies have also shown that rBGH has more saturated fat and less protein than rBGH-free milk.
… Milk derived from rBGH-injected cows increases levels of insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-1) a hormone found in both humans and cows. IGF-1 is known to survive in the digestive tract, plays a role in cancer in general, and may have significant effects on colon tumors in humans.
… A standard cancer test of a new human drug requires two years of testing but rBGH was only tested for 90 days on 30 rats. This study was submitted to the FDA but has not been published because in their words, it would "irreparably harm" Monsanto
… Use of rBGH has been associated with significant animal health problems including a 50% risk increase of lameness (leg and hoof problems), a 25% increase in the frequency of clinical mastitis (udder infections), and serious animal reproductive problems (including infertility, cystic ovaries and fetal loss.
… Despite Monsanto¹s claims that rBGH will help small farmers, The National Family Farm Coalition has estimated that one third of the nation¹s 120,000 dairy farmers have gone out of business since the drug¹s introduction in 1994
I'm a coffee debutante as well. Growing up in Seattle, just about everyplace was good except *shudder* Starbucks. When I moved to California (out of neccessity) I didn't realize how good I had it back home. Most of the coffee shops here are acrid at best, and I have been reduced to Starbucks. Now I buy imported coffee and make my own using a french press. My I sound like a snob LOL