U.S. Consumer Product Safety commissioner Richard Trumpka Jr. sparked controversy when he announced that the CPSC was considering a ban on new gas stoves. Social media soon found itself aflame, pun intended, with criticism, memes, and photos of prominent politicians cooking over their own gas stoves. 

About 40% of US households use gas stoves, and for a good reason. Gas stoves are cheaper to operate and cook food better. Chefs overwhelmingly prefer gas stoves, and commercial kitchens rely heavily on them.

With this in mind, an abrupt shift from gas to electric or induction, which the Biden bureaucracy no doubt seeks to encourage, would take a heavy toll on American families, infrastructure, and the food economy. Households and restaurants across the country would have to find a way to convert their kitchens to work with electric or induction stoves instead of the tried and tested gas stoves. Along with the stoves, new cookware would have to be purchased as induction and electric stoves are not compatible with all types of pots and pans. The ban could cost consumers billions of dollars in new cooking equipment and raise already high food costs.  

Coming off the heels of a pandemic, with food prices soaring and inflation eating at the pockets of everyday Americans, it’s no wonder the CPSC was quick to clarify that no ban has yet been drafted and the commission plans to research the topic further. The Biden administration likely fears it can’t survive another economic hit. 

What’s worse is that Trumpka’s comment wasn’t based on concern about accidental burns or gas leaks, as one might expect. The statement reportedly came after a study found that gas stove emissions may cause respiratory problems for residents, especially children. Except the science around household air quality and asthma is far from straightforward. 

According to Dr. Kelly Cowan, a pediatric pulmonologist at UVM and leading state expert, asthma could come from many factors, including environmental triggers and tobacco smoke. In her words, it’s not just “we have this much asthma because of gas stoves.”

Even if the link between asthma and gas stove emissions were clear, there’s a simple solution: ventilate your kitchen. Mitigating the effects of gas stoves is as easy as turning on a range hood or cracking a window in the kitchen.

The proposed gas stove ban is far from the first time bureaucratic red tape has strangled consumer choice and quality of life. Excessive and unnecessary regulation by self-important bureaucrats like Trumpka forces consumers to buy unpleasant light bulbs, second-rate toilets, less affordable and less reliable washing machines, shower heads that cripple water pressure, dysfunctional gas cans that exacerbate the problem they were designed to solve, and dishwashers that take more time to do a worse job. 

The United States was founded on individual freedom of choice. The modern American bureaucracy spits in the face of the anti-totalitarian founding values of this nation. It’s about time we tell the bureaucrats that infect every aspect of American life to get bent.