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Dear Eartha,
What's the best, eco-friendly choice for summer grilling? I've heard there are chemicals in charcoal, but I'm not sure about gas grills either.
— Krista, Frisco
While it took me a few weeks to recover from helping with the compost effort at the Frisco BBQ Challenge (and there were moments that weekend where I swore I'd never eat barbecue again), I admit that I love to cook outdoors.
At its core, grilling in your backyard is a pretty green choice. Compared to packing up the family and driving to a fast-food joint to pick up a six pack of burgers, it's definitely an eco-winner. And, turning off the stove to cook outside can save energy, too.
But, the devil is always in the details. So, which way to go — gas or charcoal? Impassioned barbecue fanatics have created numerous online listserves to debate this very fact, but related primarily to the taste of the grillables.
In the taste debate, gas grills seem to lose big time. But in the green debate, gas grills are the clear winner. Burning wood or charcoal creates air pollution, while the gas varieties burn cleaner with fewer emissions. But, be sure to consider the durability of the grill.
Unfortunately, there are oodles of really cheap grills out there (I see them regularly at the recycling center in the scrap metal bin) that break easily. Investing in one that is durable and taking care of it will go a long way to reducing the overall environmental cost of grilling.
So, you're a barbecue fanatic and are willing to sacrifice a little air pollution for the taste of the smoke. You're not alone. When going with charcoal or wood, what are the greener options here?
Let's start with the bad news. Traditional charcoal briquettes are usually made with sawdust (a waste product from saw mills), binders, additives and other chemicals for “flavor” or to create that magical “self-lighting” quality. Popular name brands of charcoal briquettes can also contain coal dust, starch, sodium nitrate, petroleum products, limestone and borax.
Burning any wood or charcoal will release hydrocarbons and small particles of soot that affect air quality and can irritate lungs and eyes. But the traditional charcoal briquettes, laden with additives, can also leave a “chemical” taste on your food and release these same additives into the air and, subsequently, your lungs.
In fact, Canada now considers charcoal a restricted product under the Hazardous Products Act. This means that charcoal briquettes advertised, imported or sold in Canada must display a label warning of the potential hazards of the product. The U.S. does not have such stringent laws for labeling ingredients or hazards of charcoal.
You can find “all-natural” briquettes with no additives if you look carefully, but as with many products there is no oversight of the use of the phrase “all natural,” so buyer beware. Some reputable brands with third-party certification include Noram de Mexico's Sierra Madre 100 percent oak hardwood charcoal (apparently sold at Sam's Clubs), Greenlink and Lazzari.
Barbecue purists also endorse “lump charcoal,” which is a true charcoal made of wood instead of sawdust and, almost always, with no additives or binders. For many, lump charcoal
is the taste winner, and in the bigger picture it's the green winner, too.
Personally, I use regular wood in my fire pit that doubles as a summer grill. With the abundance of wood from our local forests and lots of small pieces leftover from chopping wood for the wood stove in the
winter, this is an easy option for me — “made” locally with no chemicals.
One of the best ways to go green and watch your health when grilling
is to avoid lighter fluid. Every year, Americans alone release over 14,000 tons of VOCs — volatile organic compounds — into the atmosphere from the 46,000 tons of lighter fluid burned every year to start backyard grills.
Go back to your lessons as a Boy
or Girl Scout and use the “chimney method” to light that pile of all-natural briquettes or wood. Try some newspaper in the center, then build a pyramid of briquettes and light from the bottom. It may take a little extra time and flame nurturing, but the tradeoffs for your health and that of our planet are worth it.
Ask Eartha Steward is written by Carly Wier and Jen Santry at the High Country Conservation Center. To submit questions or column suggestions, contact them at eartha@highcountryconservation.org
What's the best, eco-friendly choice for summer grilling? I've heard there are chemicals in charcoal, but I'm not sure about gas grills either.
— Krista, Frisco
While it took me a few weeks to recover from helping with the compost effort at the Frisco BBQ Challenge (and there were moments that weekend where I swore I'd never eat barbecue again), I admit that I love to cook outdoors.
At its core, grilling in your backyard is a pretty green choice. Compared to packing up the family and driving to a fast-food joint to pick up a six pack of burgers, it's definitely an eco-winner. And, turning off the stove to cook outside can save energy, too.
But, the devil is always in the details. So, which way to go — gas or charcoal? Impassioned barbecue fanatics have created numerous online listserves to debate this very fact, but related primarily to the taste of the grillables.
In the taste debate, gas grills seem to lose big time. But in the green debate, gas grills are the clear winner. Burning wood or charcoal creates air pollution, while the gas varieties burn cleaner with fewer emissions. But, be sure to consider the durability of the grill.
Unfortunately, there are oodles of really cheap grills out there (I see them regularly at the recycling center in the scrap metal bin) that break easily. Investing in one that is durable and taking care of it will go a long way to reducing the overall environmental cost of grilling.
So, you're a barbecue fanatic and are willing to sacrifice a little air pollution for the taste of the smoke. You're not alone. When going with charcoal or wood, what are the greener options here?
Let's start with the bad news. Traditional charcoal briquettes are usually made with sawdust (a waste product from saw mills), binders, additives and other chemicals for “flavor” or to create that magical “self-lighting” quality. Popular name brands of charcoal briquettes can also contain coal dust, starch, sodium nitrate, petroleum products, limestone and borax.
Burning any wood or charcoal will release hydrocarbons and small particles of soot that affect air quality and can irritate lungs and eyes. But the traditional charcoal briquettes, laden with additives, can also leave a “chemical” taste on your food and release these same additives into the air and, subsequently, your lungs.
In fact, Canada now considers charcoal a restricted product under the Hazardous Products Act. This means that charcoal briquettes advertised, imported or sold in Canada must display a label warning of the potential hazards of the product. The U.S. does not have such stringent laws for labeling ingredients or hazards of charcoal.
You can find “all-natural” briquettes with no additives if you look carefully, but as with many products there is no oversight of the use of the phrase “all natural,” so buyer beware. Some reputable brands with third-party certification include Noram de Mexico's Sierra Madre 100 percent oak hardwood charcoal (apparently sold at Sam's Clubs), Greenlink and Lazzari.
Barbecue purists also endorse “lump charcoal,” which is a true charcoal made of wood instead of sawdust and, almost always, with no additives or binders. For many, lump charcoal
is the taste winner, and in the bigger picture it's the green winner, too.
Personally, I use regular wood in my fire pit that doubles as a summer grill. With the abundance of wood from our local forests and lots of small pieces leftover from chopping wood for the wood stove in the
winter, this is an easy option for me — “made” locally with no chemicals.
One of the best ways to go green and watch your health when grilling
is to avoid lighter fluid. Every year, Americans alone release over 14,000 tons of VOCs — volatile organic compounds — into the atmosphere from the 46,000 tons of lighter fluid burned every year to start backyard grills.
Go back to your lessons as a Boy
or Girl Scout and use the “chimney method” to light that pile of all-natural briquettes or wood. Try some newspaper in the center, then build a pyramid of briquettes and light from the bottom. It may take a little extra time and flame nurturing, but the tradeoffs for your health and that of our planet are worth it.
Ask Eartha Steward is written by Carly Wier and Jen Santry at the High Country Conservation Center. To submit questions or column suggestions, contact them at eartha@highcountryconservation.org
