Why Mineral Oil?
I haven't gotten this question in a few years, but I thought it would be worth summarizing a conversation I had into a blog post...
Why mineral oil? Isn't that a petroleum based product ((((Cancer!!!!11))))?
So this could be a moment where we list a bunch of scientific studies and really get into the whole debate... but instead, let's just say "okay, it'll give you cancer... so we won't use it... and we will use something else."
So what do you use? Well, a lot of people jump to vegetable oil. And that turns rancid. So you can get sick in the next month or maybe get cancer in your 70s. I know what I'm choosing. What about walnut oil? That could work, but a lot of people are deathly allergic to nuts and nut based products. There's tung oil of course, but it is sourced from China and South America and I've tried to keep all aspects of producing within the USA.
To close, I'd like to make the point being made here is that we are all exposed to a lot of substances, particularly in a city, and concerns over a petroleum based product being used as a finish for your cutting board should probably be on the bottom of your list of concerns as you're barely consuming any of this mineral oil if any at all. Compare that to air pollution which you inevitably must breathe. Or whatever makes your phone work.
