Focusing on a tree, not the forest?

This climate fight is about burgers and stir-fry

By ARIANNA SKIBELL

The battle over gas stoves started with efforts to curb climate change and air pollution. But it’s morphed into a debate about flame-seared burgers and the perfect stir-fry.

As Democratic-led cities and states work to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings, professional chefs and home cooks are wrestling with the fossil fuel’s role in American cooking, writes David Iaconangelo.

“If a dish has grill marks on it, it’s tougher to do that with electricity,” said Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs for the National Restaurant Association.

Gas stoves emit benzene — a carcinogen — and contribute to fossil fuel use in buildings, which accounts for a sizable chunk of the country’s planet-warming emissions. But many in the restaurant industry insist cooking with gas is necessary for quality food.

Earlier this year, the California Restaurant Association used that argument to successfully petition the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down Berkeley’s gas ban in new buildings. (The ban remains in effect as the city’s lawyers push for a rehearing on the decision).

#NotAllChefs. Some chefs dismiss the necessity of gas for fine cooking. Martin Yan, a restaurateur and host of the long-standing PBS television show “Yan Can Cook,” said it’s more about using the right equipment.

For example, stir-frying food on a flame requires the cook to lift the wok and toss its contents to achieve uniform cooking. That won’t work on most induction stoves, where lifting a pan separates the food from the heat.

But in China, manufacturers sell a wok that chefs can lift a few inches off an induction stove without breaking the electromagnetic field that transmits heat, Yan said.

“The key is, find the right equipment that works. … But right now [in the United States], there’s nothing like that,” Yan told David.

Advocates of all-electric kitchens also argue that electric induction stoves are far superior to gas ones.

“It’s disrespectful, this notion that when you get rid of gas, all of a sudden, chefs can’t cook,” said Chris Galarza, a chef and sustainability consultant who has worked with climate groups in promoting electric equipment.

Still, the limits of electric cooking — whether real or imagined — have become an argument in lawsuits and court decisions that could determine the success of efforts to clean up buildings across the country.

If the 9th Circuit upholds its decision to nix Berkeley’s gas ban, for example, that could undermine gas ban laws within the court’s jurisdiction of nine Western states — and beyond.