The deadliest thing in your kitchen - George Zaidan
Avocados may seem innocent,
but these oblong fruits sent almost
9,000 people to US emergency rooms
in 2018 alone.
Injuries sustained by hacking at the pit
or slicing while holding the fruit
have become so common,
doctors have dubbed them avocado hand.
Of course, there is a safer way
to cut avocados.
But knives are just one of the hazards
kitchens harbor.
In the US, between 2011 and 2022,
the deadliest kitchen appliances
were ovens and ranges—
appliances that are stoves
and ovens in one.
They took lives by causing fires
and leaking carbon monoxide,
a gas that can cause suffocation
at high concentrations.
These kinds of sudden, catastrophic
fatalities are thankfully rare.
But the kitchen dangers that
cause the most casualties
may actually be less immediate
and more gradual—
involving constant exposures,
like stuff in the air we breathe.
Ovens and stoves remain
a major culprit here.
Indeed, the fourth leading cause of years
of life lost globally is air pollution.
This includes indoor air pollution,
most of which comes from cooking.
Over 2 billion people cook using a solid
fuel, like charcoal and wood.
As it burns, fire and oxygen can’t reach
all of the fuel source,
leading to incomplete combustion.
This produces pollutants like soot,
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides,
and lots of particulate matter—
that is, solid and liquid particles
that have become airborne
and small enough to inhale.
A single particle can contain
many different chemicals.
And especially tiny particles can
penetrate deep into the lungs,
enter the bloodstream,
and irritate tissues,
cause inflammation,
and bring about more systemic problems.
It’s estimated that about 3 million people
die prematurely each year
from illnesses caused by burning
solid fuels.
Stoves and ovens that don’t use solid
fuels produce far less pollution—
but still a considerable amount.
There are two basic types:
gas and electric.
Gas stoves primarily burn methane
to create an open flame for cooking.
Traditional electric stoves use metal
elements that radiate heat
when an electrical current
is forced through them.
They’re different from modern
induction electric stoves,
which use electromagnetic waves
to induce currents
that heat iron and steel
cookware directly.
Gas stoves pollute more
than electric ones.
That's because natural gas combustion
produces byproducts like carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides, and formaldehyde.
Unravelling the causes of chronic diseases
is incredibly difficult,
but accumulating evidence suggests that
gas stoves exacerbate asthma symptoms
and put children at increased risk
of developing the condition.
Electric ranges are cleaner than gas ones,
but they’re still not totally
pollution-free— no ranges are.
At least some air pollution is inevitable
from the cooking process,
no matter the fuel type.
High-heat cooking generally releases
more pollutants
than lower heat methods;
after all, charring a steak isn’t all that
different from burning a solid fuel.
And substances like oil and dust
can accumulate
and release pollutants when heated.
Transitioning away from solid fuels is
critical to improving indoor air quality—
and consequently,
extending people’s lives.
Cooking with proper ventilation—
ideally, from a powerful range hood
that vents to the outdoors—
and switching from gas to electric
will also go a long way.
Electric appliances are less dangerous
by another significant metric:
the global climate.
Burning fossil fuels like natural gas
releases atmosphere-warming
carbon dioxide,
and gas ranges can also leak methane,
an even more potent greenhouse gas.
Electric appliances, meanwhile,
should only become more and
more climate-compatible
as grids transition to renewable
energy sources.
In addition to being better
for the climate and public health,
electric induction stoves tend to rival
or outperform all other stove types—
electric and gas— when it comes to cooking
efficiency and ease of cleaning.
Induction stovetops also only heat things
that respond strongly
to their magnetic fields,
so you can’t burn yourself
on them directly.
Given the considerable health and
climate concerns around gas appliances,
some governments have banned
them from new developments
and many are helping subsidize
the transition from gas to electric.
Knives will probably be staying
the same, though,
so please stop stabbing at avocados
while they’re in your hand.
