Cooking by Old Methods are Dangerous

Each year, an estimated 1.9 million people die from the most basic of food safety problems — the negative side effects of these traditional cooking methods. A majority of these deaths occur among women and children. Women in developing countries commonly spend large parts of their days over cooking fires, heating water and preparing family meals. These fires are often lit indoors, where the harmful particles they produce are trapped inside the home.
According to a 2007 report from the World Health Organization, indoor air pollution was the fifth highest cause of death in developing countries with high mortality rates in the year 2000.

Most deaths related to cooking fires occur in African and South Asian countries, particularly in India, but they are also common in other regions, including Latin America and some Eastern European countries.

Health Risks>>>>
The particles produced by burning solid fuels produce different diseases depending on a person’s age.
Pneumonia, for example, presents the greatest threat to young children. Children ages 6 to 18 months are particularly likely to develop pneumonia, explains Dr. Henry Falk, former director of the Center for National Environmental Health (CNEH). In fact, Falk says that when it comes to cooking safety, “pneumonia in children is probably the largest category we think about.”

Elderly people, on the other hand, are more likely to develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, a condition that makes breathing difficult and severely limits daily activity, says Falk.

Older children and teenagers, he says, are particularly at risk of asthma from repeated exposure to cooking fires.

Heart disease is thought to be yet another risk related to cooking fires. Logic suggests that because smoking cigarettes can lead to heart disease, primitive cooking methods that produce large amounts of smoke, such as coal-burning stoves, could as well. Research is currently being conducted on this issue.

All of these health consequences are exacerbated by the fact that access to good healthcare (or any healthcare at all) is severely limited in many developing nations. Not only do people with these diseases lack access to the antibiotics or vaccinations they might require, they lack the education necessary to cope with their conditions.

“If you’re a kid in a third-world country, you’re not getting access to education about asthma,” says Falk.

Dangers Beyond Disease>>>>

The detrimental effects of solid fuel cooking don’t end at disease. Other consequences include vision impairment, low infant birth weight, and burns and other injuries, especially among children.

Gathering fuel to stoke cooking fires presents its own risks as well. As nearby fuel supplies dwindle, women are forced to go farther to find materials. In some regions, women and girls risk rape and other forms of gender-based violence during the up to 20 hours per week they spend away from their communities, according to Leslie Cordes, Interim Executive Director at the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.
By:Health NEWS more