What’s in that cup of tea?

Tea Economy: Fair Trade Industry

Mission: to create trade partnerships that are economically equitable and environmentally conscious. → Fair Trade is a business practice that strives to keep small farmers an active part of the world market, as well as, promoting the consumer to purchase brands that support just values. → The Fair Trade economical structure is a mutual advantageous relationship between the farmers and the consumers. Economic Goals: Stabilizing and Increasing the income of farmers Promoting labor rights Equal distribution of economic gains Linking the consumer and the producer Promoting consumer awareness with issues regarding the producer Economic Practices include: -Direct trade relationships and long term contracts between importers and producers -Higher then conventional market prices made possible by price floors or above market premiums.

Tea Consumption Impacts in Our Daily Lives

Social → Exposure to toxic materials (lack of protective gear ) → Unfair salaries / lack of labor unions → Housing → Health → Education Oxfam International The Tea Market – a background study. Retrieved from on May 14, Sharma, Khemraj. Sociology of Indian Tea Industry. Mittal Publications: New Delhi, India. Blowfield, Mick. ISCOM: Institute for Sustainable Commodities. Ethical Supply Chains in the Cocoa, Coffee and Tea Industries. Retrieved from on May 14, → Harassment (ethnic/sexual) Marina

Environmental → Destruction of wildlife → Environmental toxicity Pomerantz, D Tea Party. Forbes, 182 (10), Retrieved from EBSCOhost on May 13, → Bags are made of corn-starch → Transportation requires the use of petrol Oxfam International The Tea Market – a background study. Retrieved from on May 14, → Monoculture: Habitat destruction, loss of biodiversity → Outdated technology = high energy use Marina

Health → High-levels of fluoride Cao, J., Zhao, Y., Li, Y., Deng, H., Yi, J., & Liu, J Fluoride levels in various black tea commodities: Measurement and safety evaluation. Food & Chemical Toxicology, 44(7), → Residual pesticide ingestion → Excessive ingestion can cause kidney damage Dissanayake, D.M.P.B. Health Hazards Of Excessive TEA Drinking. January Retrieved from → Caffeine + sugar Marina * Background Image: → Freshness of the product

Tea Perspectives Science, Medicine, and Consumerism

→ Focus on the chemical constituents of tea in cellular, animal, and human models → Focus mostly on the most common Western maladies: obesity, cancer, depression, and neurodegenerative/aging disorders → Antioxidants: The New Wonder Drugs?

* * What are Antioxidants? → Antioxidants stabilize highly reactive free radicals by giving electron(s) → Free radicals are normal by-products of metabolism, but can also be formed by irradiation, smoking, UV light exposure, air pollution, and stress → Free radicals can cause damage to DNA, resulting in cellular death and tissue injury → Accumulation of free radicals is a condition known as oxidative stress → It is hypothesized that oxidative stress is involved in the pathology of many disorders → The antioxidants found in tea are called catechins, which are a class of polyphenolic flavonoids

* An antioxidant at work….

* From Lipton’s Company Website: Media and Effective Marketing Pure Water Unsweetened Tea or Coffee Skim Milk/ Soymilk Diet Soft Drinks Fruit Juices Sodas

Popkin, BM., Armstrong LE, Bray GM, Caballero B, Frei B, and Willett WC. (2006) A new proposed guidance system for beverage consumption in the United States. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006:83: The “Real” Published Data