Organic foods are grown according to certain production standards, which include prohibiting the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms or ionizing radiation. Livestock and animals that produce dairy and eggs are raised without the routine use of growth hormones and antibiotics.

Organic production is federally regulated in the United States, and converting land to organic status is a three-year process.

Every day, the number of coffee varieties seems to grow. On top of that, you almost need a decoder ring to decipher the various labels and mysterious acronyms. If you want to understand your coffee in relationship to how it’s affecting the environment, here’s a primer:

According to the environmental organization WWF (www.panda.org), the main negative environmental impacts from coffee production include habitat conversion, soil degradation, pesticide use and degradation of water quality.