Choosing a healthy and climate-friendly small appliance shouldn’t be difficult!

I didn’t imagine that purchasing an air fryer would take so much effort and climate change awareness. However, life is full of surprises and now this has become something to blog about! My original intent while beginning to research air fryers was not a blog post, but, as somewhat of a foodie, I suppose, merely the yearning for great new ways to do meal preparation. And thoughts of a brand-new air fryer at the end of the semester were motivational little mental pick me ups in the middle of paper writing. 

My final assignment handed in, I soon began my search in earnest. At first, the options were endless; I thought cost-affordability would be the only deciding factor, and my decision would be made within hours. Silly me. Every time I came across a model that was quiet enough, of the right size, speedy enough with cooking rates and at least somewhat cost affordable, I came across issues with both personal health-based and environmental safety-based factors. So, the idea for a new piece of writing exploded: Boom! I began to think about sharing some of this information with others who may find value in my learning, and so this blog post was born. 

How do I gain the confidence I need to choose an air fryer that is both good for my health and for the planet?

What I plan to illustrate here is not only the considerations when buying air fryers, but the decision-making process, and some relevant psychological ideas. This being a climate psychology practicum, psychological barriers to action are a significant area to explore. I will also show consideration for both value-driven priorities as well as scientific certainties in the context of climate change, demonstrating an example of climate literacy. Climate literacy is about not only how we humans affect the climate, but how climate affects us. And the science will bring light to the sad fact that what is bad for the planet is often also bad for our own bodies.

Overwhelmed yet? That may be because you may have begun to either overfocus on the details I have just shared or you have begun to try and hide from the reality of climate change information—very normal human responses, but both detracting from moving towards truly hope based ways of coping.

How do coping styles affect my decision-making strategy?

How do we get around this? Let’s dive deeper into this idea. Hope-based coping can look like taking action or being part of a caring community that cares about the cause. This effectively describes coping via problem-solving or via finding meaning, both of which can add a sense of optimism to the conversation about the climate.  Many people use a combination of both.  Problem-based coping relies on being provided with the right information to make clear choices that affect change. Meaning-based coping creates the sense of satisfaction that comes from being part of something greater than one’s own personal interests, in turn balancing negativity with the belief that social forces working together can achieve the right goals. This may help with experiences of climate anxiety, especially with today’s youth.

Both styles have their pitfalls. Problem-based coping may frustrate the climate change enthusiast whose personal sense of control is challenged by solutions that haven’t yet been found, or are outside their capabilities. Meaning-based coping may not lead to visible external change immediately.

But, both styles can connect to the concept of self-efficacy (the belief in your ability to succeed) and agency (your actual capacity to make the necessary choices to take action in your life).  This can help with negative emotions, and with gaining a sense of resiliency in the context of environmental concerns.

Self-efficacy is key

And let me tell you, bringing it all back to the air fryer purchase, it turns out my self-efficacy or confidence around this decision-making process was initially pretty low. But, thankfully, self-efficacy can and did improve with intentionality, forethought, and self-reflection, among other factors.

For this decision to matter, a meaning-based coping style informed me as to what my values are and how my values must align with the purchase. Those values of course look at how my choices affect not only me but the planet. How can those values align? By using problem-based coping skills to review information and determine priorities. These priorities had to align with the “do our best, remove the rest” principles/action recommendations I have been learning about with Possible by Design.

Positive intention is in place, priorities are clear, now let’s see some clear information about what features my air fryer needs to have

In summary, the environmental and personal health factors I decided to focus on are:

1. Material of the body of the air fryer-choose stainless steel and glass over plastic

2. Material of the lining/coating of the air fryer and coating of the rack, baskets - ceramic, glass and/or stainless steel (better than chrome plated stainless steel).

3. Size-smaller ones are more energy efficient, as are doubled walled construction

4. Prop65 warnings-avoid these

5. Look for climate policies/commitments of the organization

Following is the supportive information for this priority list:

Energy Efficiency. Let’s reconnect with the hard science. For example, firstly, what I found with my research was that the energy efficiency of a small appliance affects emissions. This is relevant regarding not only the energy consumption of use but of manufacturing. Notably, research shows that widespread use of any air fryer could reduce household cooking energy consumption by 25-40%.

Energy efficiency is increased with

1. A smaller size

2. Double walled body

3. A stainless steel body-there is a high energy consumption with manufacturing, but it is more durable, and conducts heat better

Microplastics. Opting out of a plastic body is for more than just energy efficiency reasons. Plastic is less durable, so must be replaced sooner.  It also doesn’t break down in the environment, leaking microplastics into our world when disposed of or into our food (if the surface is scratched). Note, however, if you already have one, proper disposal at appliance recycling centres is still important.  

Non-Stick Coating. Next, the non-stick coating must be looked at critically. Considerations are:

1. PTFE/PFAS coating the inside of the body of the air fryer or the accessories. PFAS chemicals are “forever chemicals” that do not break down in the environment and the manufacturing process is energy intensive, releasing a high amount of CO2.

   
   

   If the only issue is an included baking pan or basket being PTFE coated, you can purchase your own separately; however, keep in mind those PTFE coated items still need to be disposed of. If you can vote with your dollar for an appliance that doesn’t use PTFE/PFAS in the first place, even better.

   
   

2. Ceramic coating is a better option, but one must be careful. Note that ceramic accessories may need to be replaced sooner, and, with cleaning one must be careful, as the ceramic material can chip away leaving aluminum underneath.

   
   

3. Glass does not use non-stick coating, even better.

   
   

4. Stainless steel materials should not be coated in PFAS/PTFE.

   
   

Personal Health Considerations. Furthermore, PTFE can build up in our bodies. Additionally, there is a warning called the Proposition 65 or Prop65 warning, that refers to health hazards of a small appliance. This should be checked and is associated with PFAS/PTFE materials.

Company environmental policy. Finally, the commitment to net zero/geo zero products should have been made by the company. Look in your search for 2030 commitments as well as 2050 goals to reduce or even better completely erase carbon dioxide net emissions.

Having tackled these key elements, using varied hope based coping tactics thereby increasing my sense of self efficacy, my climate distress is now somewhat eased. Smooth marketing tactics and online images and videos of mouthwatering looking dishes prepared via life and planet altering interactions with forever chemicals now don’t faze me.

At the time of writing, the space on my kitchen shelf reserved for The Right Airfryer still remains empty. But when it comes time to fill that space, rest assured the confidence and knowledge is now in place to fill that space in a way that aligns with my values. Not only that, but my air fryer will reduce household cooking-related emissions by 40-60% and will use approximately 65-75% less energy than my oven for equivalent cooking tasks.  

My journey feels if not complete than farther along that it was a few short weeks ago. And not only that, but I have learned a transferable set of skills re: decision making with not only further small appliance purchasing but with any purchase regarding any chemicals (emitted from the manufacturing, the use, or from the disposal) that shouldn’t be in my body, in my garden soil or in our ocean.

Thanks for reading and hopefully this information can help you too.