Do You Know Where Your Grilling Charcoal Comes From?
Nigeria’s forests are being decimated to make charcoal for cookouts in Europe and the United States.
Robin Hammond/Panos Pictures/Redux
Charcoal production in Lagos, Nigeria
Two men dropped their tools and fled on foot from an
approaching motorbike. They abandoned their own motorcycle, yellow jugs of
water, two hoes, and several charred lumps of wood. Nearby, wisps of smoke leaked
from soil mounds. Further afield lay bare roots of freshly felled trees. They had
been making charcoal, the same way people have done for years, stretching back
into prehistory: Cut down trees; gather the logs and branches into piles; cover