Asian Americans react to possible federal ban on gas stoves

‘It’s insulting. It’s sacrilege’: Asian Americans react to possible federal ban on gas stoves due to health risks and emissions

How wok cooking — the method behind dishes from kung pao chicken to pad see ew — and Asian communities in the U.S. fit into the debate over gas stoves


When Charlene Luo was looking for a condo to buy in 2021, she had two nonnegotiable requirements: one, enough space to host friends for dinner; and two, a gas stove with the capacity to install a powerful range hood.

Luo, a data scientist, cooks every day and hosts a supper club from time to time in her Brooklyn apartment. She prefers a gas stove because she cooks with a wok, the deep, sloping pan that is the best vessel for preparing Sichuan dishes.


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But after a consumer-safety official in early January floated the possibility of a federal ban on gas stoves, Yam started wondering how she would cook at home if her landlord were to replace the gas stove in her apartment with something else. Would she still be able to get the level of heat and control needed to cook with a wok?

California has already passed a law banning the installation of gas stoves in new construction, and New York City has a similar prohibition that will take effect in 2024. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is reviewing gas stoves, citing studies about the health risks and effects on global warming caused by their emissions. “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said in an interview with Bloomberg.
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He feels strongly about being compelled to make such a change. “I’m not against electrification of most of it. But I think to legislate it all out is doing great cultural damage,” Chen says. “It’s insulting. It’s sacrilege.”

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