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Green Barbeques: Getting Techie
Meat
Despite all the press given to driving hybrid cars and using compact fluorescent light bulbs, as solutions to cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions go, eating less meat might be the most meaningful decision--with the most impact--that each of us can do. Worldwide agriculture, especially livestock production, accounts for about a fifth of the greenhouse gas emissions. Cattle and sheep release millions of metric tons of methane gas a year into the environment through, ahem, their own emissions. (That's right: We mean cow farts and sheep burps.) In New Zealand, for example, the 55 million farm animals produce some 90 percent of the country's methane emissions, according to Reuters.
Furthermore, according to a report published in New Scientist magazine, eating 2.2 pounds of beef -- that's one kilogram, if you prefer metric measurements -- creates the equivalent emissions to driving for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home -- yikes! How does that translate to burgers and pounds of emissions? As it turns out, the carbon footprint of every cheeseburger is about 6.3 to 6.8 pounds; this calculation includes a myriad of factors from growing the feed for the cattle for the beef and cheese, growing the produce, storing and transporting the components, as well as cooking them all. The bottom line here: growing and sending meat through both industrial and local supply chains takes tons of resources, and results in a huge carbon footprint. Cutting back on meat is a tremendously important step toward creating a greener barbecue.
Local Food
There has been much ado recently about the merits of local food, as the concept of food miles becomes more and more pervasive in our culture. However, as TreeHugger's Green Basics: Eat Local Food points out, the local food concept isn't just about distance, but is about the entire lifecycle of our food, "integrating production, processing, distribution and consumption on a small scale, creating sustainable local economies and a strong connection between farm and table." In fact the majority of the ecological footprint of our food comes from growing, processing, storage, and packaging. All the more important to consider the multiple benefits of cooking fresh local foods, rather than overly-processed, store bought options.
From the standpoint of the customer, local food is a win-win-win-situation. From an environmental perspective, local foods conserve materials used in packaging and reduce the carbon footprint of your product via transportation and production. From a community standpoint local food both supports the local economy - farmers/producers/farmers' markets - and helps to bolster long standing agricultural and cuisine traditions. And from a personal standpoint you are able to enjoy the most fresh, seasonal products, which have not been overly processed or preserved, and which are often considerably healthier than their alternatives. So take advantage of what your local community has to offer before heading to the big box grocery store in preparation for your Q.
Types of Charcoal
Grilling charcoal may seem the most basic of products (coal is carbon, one of the most abundant elements on earth, right?). Au contraire: conventional grilling charcoal is made from a myriad of ingredients, takes many forms, and has a wide range of environmental impacts depending on which variety you choose. Although defenders of charcoal tout its claim to be 'carbon neutral,' as much of the material used to create it comes from trees which can be replanted, we know this to be an overly simplistic conclusion to a complex set of options and considerations.
- Charcoal Briquettes are what we general think of when picturing store bought grilling charcoal in our minds. Briquettes contain natural charcoal which is mixed with a mélange of additives such as sawdust, starch, borax, petroleum solvents, and sodium nitrate (to help with ignition). In addition to being potentially harmful when burned, briquettes can add an unpleasant taste and odor to our foods. Instant light charcoal is particularly toxic when burned and is to be avoided.
- Lump Charcoal or 'natural charcoal' contains no additives and is significantly preferable to charcoal briquettes in this respect, both from the standpoint of environmental impact and your food's taste. Lump charcoal is made from hardwood, and produces less ash when burned than briquettes. A few companies are even beginning to offer FSC-certified natural lump charcoal. While lump charcoal holds certain benefits to briquettes, keep in mind that much of this charcoal and its raw materials come from destinations hundreds or thousands of miles away from your grill, adding to its carbon footprint.
- Ceramic Briquettes and Lava Rocks don't burn, but can be used to improve heat distribution in your gas or electric grill (depending on the make and model of your grill). These briquettes absorb the heat from the flames and radiate this heat, helping improve the efficiency of your grill.
Solar Cookers
For those into the slow food movement, consider slow cooking movement too! Perhaps Solar cooking doesn't have the immediate, high-heat fast-cook time advantage that 'grilling' does, but for those into traditional 'barbecue', which can take hours to cook, solar cooking may be your next culinary adventure. One can prepare a wide variety of dishes in a solar oven, with two added financial advantages (in addition to numerous environmental ones) compared to other methods of outdoor cooking: solar 'fuel' is free and solar cookers are often cheaper than traditional grills and can even be made at home with common household materials. TreeHugger has rounded up a few models of cookers, which survey options currently available on the market.
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