Orange Juice oranges Yikes! And I thought drinking fresh orange juice (Citrus sinensis) was healthy!

Whether in the country or abroad, at home, in hotels or restaurants, every chance I get, I try to have my fill of orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed or at least the pure and unsweetened product in cartons and cans.

Aside from loving the sour, sweet and tart taste, I think of all that Vitamin C. A glass easily provides me my recommended daily allowance. What cola/soda can be more refreshing and more natural?

Apparently, my beloved beverage is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. To paraphrase Leo Hickman:

The manufacturing process is harmful to the environment: for every glass of Brazilian orange juice, 22 glasses of processing water and 1,000 glasses of irrigation water were required. To produce 10 glasses of juice, one glass of crude oil is needed. More water and energy is required if the juice is pasteurised, concentrated, frozen, shipped, then rehydrated at the destination country.

Then there are pesticides. The residues may not permeate the flesh and are left on the peel but then again, that’s where I get my marmalade! Gasp!

Read the complete article from the Guardian: Is it OK … to drink orange juice?

Perhaps I should just stick to the juice of calamansi / calamondin (Citrofortunela microcarpa).

Photo sourcing and doctoring compliments of Mike at lafang.