Many designs for pot stands are made with Zinc dipped wire mesh.This metal when subjected to high temperatures can be very unhealthy to breath.If you look at your stand when done cooking you may notice a light yellow sublimate or coating on the metal,this is not good to breath in.I'm not sure how the fumes of heating the zinc would combine with your food but don't hang out over your cook pot,ventilation would most definitely be your friend here.While traveling through the Palmerston area PA take a good look around,what your seeing is the clean-up from a Zinc smelter that operated to process the Zinc that came from a Zinc mines in NJ and know by many names.Any thoughts on this subject?as I could not find any when searching zinc,pot stand,or the like.Any alternatives to the wire mesh used by many?