Green Barbecuing

Lesson

We can reduce our carbon footprint in all kinds of ways—even when we’re grillin’.

In this lesson, we’ll outline some small steps that can help us become a little more proactive in what we do to reduce our impact on the planet.

Use cloth napkins at barbecue parties or picnics. They can be washed and reused. Inexpensive kerchiefs and bandanas come in every color imaginable, and are easily found at local military surplus stores.

Purchase biodegradable dishes and utensils. Look for compostable plates, bowls, cups, food storage containers, forks, knives, and even drinking straws made from 100% sugar cane fiber. These products, made from a by-product of cane sugar refining, are available in virtually unlimited supply around the world. Using the fibers left over after the sugar is removed spares unnecessary air pollution, as most of this “waste” material would otherwise be burned.

Use natural cleaning chemicals made from orange oil or soy products. They rinse easily, are phosphate free, biodegradable, and are good at removing grease and grime and loosening charred residues from your grill.

Reduce chemicals in your grillin’. You may have heard about how barbecuing meat creates potentially dangerous chemicals: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs). The jury is still out on how much cancer risk is involved, but to be safe, and healthy, it’s a good idea to trim excess fat from meats and poultry, and choose lean, Omega-3 rich and sustainable fish (either wild or raised in approved fish-farms). Slow and low barbecue cooking (at low temperatures for long cooking times), also reduces the production of the PAH and HCA compounds.

Buy and eat local produce and protein whenever possible. Think of the amount of fuel and the huge carbon footprint needed to fly or drive products from other regions of the U.S. to your hometown, or to bring it here from overseas.

Buy your sodas in recyclable aluminum cans, and beer in recycled cardboard boxes, NOT plastic six-pack rings, which not only are not biodegradable but are lethal to fish and birds if they end up in our lakes, rivers, or oceans.

Use a chimney grill starter instead of lighter fluid. It’s inexpensive, works every time, and is environmentally friendly.

Don’t use ordinary charcoal briquettes. Instead, look for organic brands. Non-organic brands emit 105 times more carbon monoxide than propane, release more greenhouse gases than wood, and send lots of harmful VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) into the air.

Cook with gas if you can. Propane and natural gas have the lowest carbon footprint among cooking fuels.