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Green Grilling - How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Everyone talks about global warming and other environmental issues these days. Quite rightly too - the current trend in Global Warming may well be natural, or it could be human driven. Who knows? The answer is no-one for definite but can we take the risk. If it is natural and we all reduce our carbon footprint then great, it will hopefully put itself right faster. If it is humans that are the cause, then great, if we are proactive then hopefully at some point, it will be put right and the climate will return to normal. In other words, being environmentally aware and reducing your carbon footprint leads to a win-win situation. But before you learn how to become a 'Green Griller', remember to sign up for our free "Tip of the Week" (use the orange box on the top right), customized tips and information straight from The Grilling Coach, Richard Myers -- Grill Master. So how can we grillers contribute? Is it worth it? Of course it is worth it - your individual contribution is miniscule but when you think of millions making small contributions, then hey, we've got something good happening. So, if you are a charcoal griller, the benefits are that you are using current carbon and your grilling equipment uses fewer resources to make it. So I guess that is fairly green to start with. But there are still steps you can take to reduce your impact on the environment. The charcoal has to have come from somewhere, check out your favourite brand and find its origins, use charcoal from a sustainable source, even if it costs more - saving the planet is not always about saving money! Some charcoal is made from recycled wood rather than wood that is deliberately cut for the purpose of producing it. If you are tempted to buy a disposable grill - DON'T. They are incredibly wasteful of resources. Always use lump charcoal, other types contain chemical binders which, when burned, release polluting chemicals into the air - remember also that these will be absorbed into your food so it is healthier for you as well as healthier for the environment. When you start up your charcoal, avoid the use of lighting fluids and self lighting charcoal as these release complex petrochemical by-products into the atmosphere and your food. Light your charcoal naturally or using and electric charcoal starter. But the gas grill is potentially less polluting overall, especially if you get one that runs of natural gas. That is the simplest fuel of all and burns the cleanest. Oh sure, it will create the dreaded carbon dioxide, the most well known of the greenhouse gases, but at least it does not produce the more complex combustion products of other grill fuels. The gas grill will also cost more, environmentally speaking, but it has the potential to last a lifetime, if you look after it and store it carefully. When you consider the exctraction and processing of the raw materials, the manufacture, transport and packaging of the components, the assembly of the unit and the subsequent packaging, transport and other peripherals such as advertising, you can see that each grill has a big impact on the planet. Oh, and then there is the disposal, transporting (hopefully) to the recycling centre, the actual recycling and subsequent re-use of the recycled materials all has a further impact. The less disposal that is done, the better it will be for the environment. So whilst a charcoal griller will generally wear out several grills in a lifetime, a gas griller will probably not need to replace it. Repair it maybe but that is much more environmentally friendly - reduces landfill and reduces the demand on the resources of the planet. So spend a bit more when you buy the grill, get the best you can afford and it will save you and the planet in the long term. Preheat times waste fuel, the shorter the preheat time, the less fuel is wasted. So leave your grill, whether it is on gas or charcoal, for the minimum possible preheat time. Better for the environment and better for the purse! Grease and other burnt on food residues will release un-necessary smoke so make sure that whatever your grill type, keep it clean. Cleaning it when it is still warm makes life easier, so to save re-heating it the next day, which is an unnecessary waste of fuel, clean it straight after the party, while the food residues are still soft and easier to remove. Take care of course not to burn yourself!! Even trimming off the excess fat before grilling will help, it will reduce smoke during the cooking and will reduce the amount cleaning afterwards! Great! We will now move on to the other aspect of grilling - the food. How and where you buy food has a great impact on the environment. The way you buy your food for the grill is another way that you can contribute. Not everyone has a backyard big enough to grow veg but you only need a window ledge to grow some salad leaves for the accompaniment or garnish. Buy meat from a local butcher, who gets his meat from local farms, if you must buy ready made burgers and stuff, check that it was not grown in South America where the rainforests are still being cleared to increase the production of beef. Buy veg from a local store instead of a supermarket, the veg has probably not been transported as far and will almost certainly not have been packaged. Produce in a supermarket that is labeled 'locally produced' may be labeled legally, but will often have traveled half way across the country to a central store, where is has been stored, packaged, possibly irradiated and then sent back! Pretty environmentally unfriendly really. If it is not completely impractical, e.g. you live out of town, walk to the local stores to buy the food for your grilling party. Not only will it save fuel, reduce pollution and save you cash, it will also help you to become a little fitter. Just going back a little to the packaging issue mentioned in the last paragraph. Why is packaging so bad? For a start it is unnecessary. Veg grow in the ground or in the air so why do they need to be wrapped up? They don't. It is a convenience for the supermarkets. Period. Packaging requires energy and resources to produce, energy and resources are then needed to package the individual items. What a waste of stuff that could be put to better use. Where does packaging go when you dispose of it? Some is recycled but if it was not necessary in the first place that is another complete waste of energy and resources, it has to be transported and processed so recycling isn't really that green, but it makes people feel they are doing their bit. Don't buy packaged stuff in the first place - now that IS green! Have you got the guts to do that or are you sticking with the masses? What about meat and fish I hear you say, surely that needs packaging? No way, what's wrong with taking your own container and using that instead of getting it trussed up at the supermarket. Perhaps we are becoming lazy, or even embarrassed to do the right thing, in case we get labeled as being odd. So to sum up, every griller can do their bit to help combat air pollution and other environmental issues, individually you will have little impact but if the whole grilling community acts, then between us, we can make a difference. Remember also that these principles can easily be applied to buying food for everyday meals too and that will have an even greater impact. Do you have the will to get involved or will you just sit back and leave it to others? C'mon grillers, don't be apathetic, let it! 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