Pictured (click to expand): Kalbi, a favorite barbecue dish from Korea
With Memorial Day coming up, I was asked a question for grilling aficionado: what is more environmentally responsible, charcoal or gas?
Some quick research into the gas v charcoal question revealed the answer that is probably most intuitive in the first place: overall, natural gas is the way to go over charcoal. So I will defer to Olivia Zaleski of the
Huffington Post, which answered this question a few years ago. Natural gas emits one third of the emissions of commercial barbecue charcoal, with a few caveats. Natural, real, or “chunk” charcoal, is a better alternative than what you buy at the grocery store, which is generally made from sawdust, corn byproducts, and chemicals like benzene. Chunk charcoal, however, often has to be hauled long distances, so when you account for emissions from transport, gas still wins in the long run.
If you are a purist and still insist on charcoal, do not feel guilty. What you can do is extinguish your coals as soon as your are done so you can reuse them the next time around.
Happy Grilling!
