If you were asleep waiting for your first coffee, we'll say it again. Switzerland has officially ruled that coffee is not essential for life. No java. No joe. Not a joke!
Switzerland has had a policy since the 1930s of storing emergency food reserves in case of war, natural disaster or epidemics. By law, producers of essentially commodities are required to have three months worth on hand at all times, including, just now, 15,300 tonnes of coffee.
But the government agency responsible for the program has proposed dropping coffee from the list by next year, saying “The Federal Office for National Economic Supply has concluded coffee ... is not essential for life. Coffee has almost no calories and subsequently does not contribute, from the physiological perspective, to safeguarding nutrition.”
The final decision will be made in November. And while it may or may not be an essential of life, it plays a big role in Swiss life; the per capita consumption in Switzerland is about 20 pounds a year, three times that of Britain.
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