Everyone loves a summer camping trip. The great outdoors, the sunshine, the fresh air. Yet millions of campers will be burning coal in barbques that are both harmful to that fresh air and health that campers are taking time to enjoy.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons cause cancer due to incomplete burning
Bruce Semon, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director of Wisconsin Institute of Nutrition (May 17, 2009) Cancer Prevention by Changing Diet writes “There is one main group of chemicals to worry about. These chemicals are called the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) group. They are formed whenever there is incomplete combustion or burning. This occurs in cigarettes and also takes place in charcoal grills and in the smoking of food.”
Wardlaw & Smith (2006) write benzo(a)pyrene and other heterocyclic amines in char-broiled foods, especially meats are linked to stomach and colon cancer. Semon (2009) describes the reason that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are so bad to human health is that the body thinks the PAHs are cholesterol and pumps them (the carcinogenic causing chemicals) everywhere throughout the body. They (PAHs) last in the body a long time, up to a month.
“When I was first reading these reports,” Dr. Semon said, “I called an FDA chemist about them. I asked why there is no publicized warning. The FDA makes sure that food companies do not add these chemicals to foods. But the FDA chemist told me that the use of charcoal grills is a human behavior and they [the FDA] have nothing to do with that [notifying consumers of the risks of eating charcoal grilled meat.”
Eucalyptus Carbon Neutral Charcoal
Bloggerwave Inc. (OTCBB: BLGW), an innovative commercial blogging company in Mountain View, CA announced last month that it has been contracted to run all marketing and advertising for "Green Hearts Natural Charcoal Briquettes," an innovative barbeque product created for the American market by Soler, one of the major companies in charcoal production in Europe.
“The natural charcoal briquettes have a great story,” shares Bloggerwave. They are created from eucalyptus trees subject to strict forest management techniques that naturally re-grow after they are harvested. Not only are they carbon neutral and from a sustainable source, but they are fast lighting, long burning and produce a terrific barbeque taste. The Soler company is also actively involved in the struggle against child labor in Brazil." For more information about the product please visit the manufacturer's site at: Green Hearts Natural Charcoal Briquettes.
Solar Ovens Keeps Camp Barbeques Clean
Suite writer Summer Minor (April, 2010) writes in Types of Solar Powered Camping Stoves there are three main types of solar powered camping stoves; a sport solar oven, a solar grill and a sun oven.
Over and above camping, these ovens are the saving grace exported to third world countries and for especially after disasters. Solar Cookers International (SCI) Solar Oven Project promotes solar cooking and solar water pasteurization systems to benefit people and environments to third-world and developing countries.
Making a solar oven can be as easy as gluing tinfoil to cardboard flaps that can be repositioned manually to track the sun. The trick is to have on hand some black enamel cookware in which to put the dish to be cooked that is enveloped in high-temperature cooking bags similar to one used to enclose a roast in, though more durable. These materials along with cookbooks can be ordered from Solar Cookers International, which is a non-profit organization in Sacramento, CA.
Suite writer Chris Deziel details instructions to make a sturdier solar cooker out of plywood in his article Making a Solar Oven: Let the Sun Do the Cooking. Often lumber yards will cut the wood for customers without such equipment. The rest is simple assembly. Chris writes, “A solar oven is little more than a black box with reflective surfaces that focus the sun's rays. If you have intermediate carpentry skills and a little time, it's easy to build one that will produce temperatures of more than 400 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to boil water and even cook your dinner.”
References:
- Bruce Semon, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director of Wisconsin Institute of Nutrition (May 17, 2009). Cancer Prevention by Changing Diet. nutritioninstitute.com
- Wardlaw and Smith (2006). Contemporary Nutrition 6th Edition. NY, McGraw Hill p. 507.
Karen Hansen - Biography Karen is currently an Earth and Environmental Sciences instructor at a private college. In the past she has worked on ...
