Date on Senior Honors Thesis
5-2021
Document Type
Senior Honors Thesis
Degree Name
B.A.
Department
Classical and Modern Languages
Degree Program
College of Arts and Sciences
Author's Keywords
cookstoves; clean cookstoves; open-flame cooking; smoke inhalation; culinary culture
Abstract
Open-flame cooking, the central cooking approach used by some three billion individuals across the globe, primarily in developing countries, poses serious health and environmental risks. While some countries have begun to transition to cleaner stoves, this effort has confronted widespread resistance. People who have been using this ancient cooking method and whose culinary traditions rely on this cooking approach have remained recalcitrant in their efforts to continue cooking the traditional way. This study focuses on Chiapas, the southernmost and the poorest state in Mexico, which skirts the Guatemalan border. This study provides ample evidence of the health risks associated with open-flame cooking, while also examining the efforts to introduce cleaner, more healthful cooking methods, and assesses the resistance of Mexican cooks to adopt these new practices. As an intervention, clean cookstoves seek to dramatically minimize the many health risks that are produced from open-flame cooking methods and to improve environmental outcomes in the communities in which they are placed. In Mexico, national culture is defined in part by culinary tradition, so interventions which alter this culinary culture have faced stark rejection from many communities. Finally, this study raises the following questions: Where has clean cookstove technology been introduced and accepted? What factors helps to explain this success? What lessons might we learn from these other successes that could be helpful in convincing Mexican cooks to adopt new technologies that would go a long way in protecting both their health and the environments in which they live?
Recommended Citation
Zoeller, Holly Renee, "The dangers posed by open-flame cooking: the case of Chiapas, Mexico." (2021). College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses. Paper 245.
Retrieved from https://ir.library.louisville.edu/honors/245
Lay Summary
Open-flame cooking, the central cooking approach used by some three billion individuals across the globe, primarily in developing countries, poses serious health and environmental risks. While some countries have begun to transition to cleaner stoves, this effort has confronted widespread resistance. People who have been using this ancient cooking method and whose culinary traditions rely on this cooking approach have remained recalcitrant in their efforts to continue cooking the traditional way. This study focuses on Chiapas, the southernmost and the poorest state in Mexico, which skirts the Guatemalan border. This study provides ample evidence of the health risks associated with open-flame cooking, while also examining the efforts to introduce cleaner, more healthful cooking methods, and assesses the resistance of Mexican cooks to adopt these new practices. As an intervention, clean cookstoves seek to dramatically minimize the many health risks that are produced from open-flame cooking methods and to improve environmental outcomes in the communities in which they are placed. In Mexico, national culture is defined in part by culinary tradition, so interventions which alter this culinary culture have faced stark rejection from many communities. Finally, this study raises the following questions: Where has clean cookstove technology been introduced and accepted? What factors helps to explain this success? What lessons might we learn from these other successes that could be helpful in convincing Mexican cooks to adopt new technologies that would go a long way in protecting both their health and the environments in which they live?
