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Aspen at Expo – Clean cooking solutions for health and sustainability

    Food Security, Nutrition and Global Health
    • Milan
    • 8 July 2015

          Everyone likes to eat food cooked on the barbecue, but whilst in the western world, it is part and parcel of a convivial habit, often linked to a celebration of some sort, in Africa and Asia it is one of the main causes of death.  It is also a sign of inequality and the cause of environmental damage, and yet is a problem that few have heard of. The lack of clean cooking facilities, as estimated  by the International Energy Agency, involves some 2.6 billion people who prepare their meals over an open fire or an inefficient burner that uses some sort of solid fuel like wood, coal, charcoal or a liquid fuel like kerosene.

          The result?  Extremely high levels of domestic pollution, particulate emissions, carbon monoxide and other harmful gases that, according to the World Health Organization, cause the premature death of more than 4 million people a year from tumors on the lung, heart disease and pneumonia, and 60% of those who die are women. The emissions produced kill more people than aids, malaria and tuberculosis put together.  It is a problem that is not discussed as much as it should be despite the huge implications, economically and environmentally too; they are the cause of 25% of greenhouse gases and the deforestation of vast areas of land. 

          Those at greatest risk are women, who since the beginning of time have been on the front line as far as procuring supplies of food and preparing meals for the family – and cooking over an open fire at home is very harmful indeed.  Despite that, it is a hard habit for 38% of the world’s population to kick – in Sub-Sahara Africa and developing areas of Asia in particular.

          A booming world market of stoves and clean fuel could save lives, improve levels of subsistence (up to 40% of the income of poor families is used to buy wood), empower women and safeguard the environment.  Wood is the most commonly used material and it is in short supply, which means that the job of walking up to 80 kilometers to obtain it usually falls on women and children who have to forgo other activities, including school, in order to do so.  If the latest types of stoves are to catch on in rural areas – and used for their proper purpose and not, as has happened in the past, as flower boxes – the first step to take must be to adapt them to those who will be using them, and not the other way around.  In other words, they need to be suitable for cooking the food that is most popular in the area concerned.

          WorldStove, a young benefit corporation born 16 years ago, has not only developed stoves that are clean and efficient – they have a new type of business model that involves local people as partners, manufacturers and retailers.  Their stoves burn with 92% efficiency and use biomass pellets for fuel, which means that the waste produced is carbon that can then be used as fertilizer.  WorldStove sets up micro-factories where local inhabitants produce both fuel and stoves and some added their own decorative touches to those used in a pilot project which they later did not want to return because they felt as if they had made them theirs. Enabling developing populations to become self-sufficient is a crucial step and WorldStove is succeeding in its efforts to provide them from with the freedom not to be tied to major suppliers of LPG, and turn them into energy producers themselves.  This means new jobs, a better quality of life and a reduction of pro-capita spending.  What is more, with the fertilizer produced from stove waste, 58 thousand trees have been planted.

          Much still needs to be done, but awareness of this subject is growing.  The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves – an organization established in 2010 as a partnership between the public and private sectors and  boasts 1200 partners across the globe – has already achieved great results; in just 5 years, 20 million families have started to use intelligent stoves. For the first time, the WHO has established standards of cleanliness and air quality in the home and it is working with governments to develop the best way to implement them, that includes practical suggestions – such as avoid using kerosene in the home – and  is also creating international data bases that will facilitate the transition to cleaner technologies.

          A conversation on the culture of food

          Cooking with wood and smoking food are a traditional element of food culture. They are both techniques still used in kitchens around the world, although in western society, they have evolved into something that is sustainable. Some of the best restaurants have wood-burning ovens, and smoked meat and toasted coffee are deeply rooted in many food traditions, especially in Italy.  In the past, coffee was toasted over wood, but today major producers use gas, the fossil fuel that creates the least emissions and is the easiest to control in terms of heat, better even than electricity.  Varying the ratios used can produce a huge variety of flavors.    

          Food culture and learning about food has changed radically over the years.  In peasant communities practically nothing was ever thrown away.  Anything surplus to need was sold at local markets and any waste, such as potato peelings or pumpkin skin was used for cooking.  Food was used in a way that created a complete cycle and that needs to start happening again.  Children had chores to do and they were involved in preparing meals, both of which have great educational value.  In the 60s, restaurants were all about sharing the culture and traditions of a particular country and its cuisine, whereas now, the focus is on innovation and creativity.  To succeed, something new has to be invented all the time if a restaurant is to stay at the top of the rankings.

          Food is an easy way for women to enter the workplace, even in developing countries. Enabling them to earn an income is the best way to improve their quality of life.  Women themselves need to be the driving force behind this however, as they are the ones who promote change, as is obvious, for example, in an agricultural context such as a coffee plantain. Women have a solid and deeply rooted ethical system and they are extraordinarily successful multi-takers.  It is women, in fact, that are achieving standards of excellence that are increasingly better than those of their male counterparts.

          • Andrea Illy and Lidia Bastianich
          • Andrea Illy, Lidia Bastianich and Corby Kummer
          • Andrea Illy, Lidia Bastianich and Corby Kummer
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