Some bad news about pizza, the best food in the world. Those big wood-burning ovens that make pizza oh-so-delicious are really, really bad for the environment. That’s right, air pollution is not just for those coal-burning ovens as jokingly mentioned in this love letter to pizza. Nope, it’s all bad for Mother Earth.
According to the Daily Mail, a scientific study has found that pollution was still just as high in the megacity of Sao Paulo, Brazil, even though it had reduced car emissions. Dr. Prashant Kumar, from the University of Surrey, led the study and looked for emission sources that people wouldn’t necessarily think of. Kumar’s team discovered that this elevated pollution came from wood-burning stoves used for pizza, seen as a trendy way to cook this popular food.
This is how these ovens end up being so bad for the environment:
The smoke from the wood goes into the air and undergoes a chemical process to become dangerous ‘secondary pollutants’ such as ozone and aerosol in already built-up areas.
It is a major problem in Sao Paulo because the city is so densely populated and produces a staggering one million pizzas a day for eating in or takeaway.
As a result, Sao Paulo is paying a heavy environmental price for its pizza habit, and it’s not unreasonable to examine whether other major cities are doing so too. It looks city officials will have to find a way to reduce emissions from this surprising source like it apparently has from cars. To learn more, read the entire study here.
(via Daily Mail)
