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It is almost twenty five years ago that I was watching the nightly news, and a newscast came on about household birds dying suddenly, and without a visible explanation. The article caught my attention, especially when it revealed that the birds were dying from a toxic gas that was emitted from the very pots and pans that I had just cooked our supper in, Teflon or as it is more commonly referred to "non stick cookware". I chucked out my nonstick pans that very night.

Research has shown that this coated "nonstick cookware" contains chemicals which are toxic to humans and animals alike. Even worse was the finding that the pan's coating breaks down at high temperatures, and in so doing releases it's many chemical toxins into the very air that we breath. Birds being much smaller, and thus more sensitive to this poisoning, were dying on the spot from the ingestion of these toxins. The gist of the newscast was that by burning supper, or simply cooking at an extremely high temperature such as that required to fry french fries, the very air around us is being filled with poisonous gases. That is a spooky thought!

Perfluoroctanoic acid is one of the scariest chemicals in these pans and pans. It is used to bind the nonstick coating to the pan, it has also been linked to cancer and birth defects in humans, and is due to be eliminated from use by the year 2015. It is reported that as many as 9 out of every 10 people now carry some degree of this toxic chemical within them, and also that Dupont was heavily fined for covering up details as well as data on the toxicity levels of this chemical, Dupont has been under fire from the EPA for many years concerning the company's use of perfluoroctanoic. It is reported that the implications in the banning of this chemical could be as important to human health as the ban on DDT was.

In 2003 "The Environmental Working Group" reported that nonstick coatings on this cookware could release as many as 15 toxic gases including 2 carcinogens at higher cooking temperatures. Is this a legacy that we want to give to our children and grandchildren? It is not the type of unhealthy background that I wanted to give to mine. But each person has to make their own decisions as to what they deem acceptable or permissible in their lives.

Perhaps as a substitute for the Teflon type nonstick cooking surface, you may want to try out a well seasoned cast iron pan. These pans have been around for hundreds of years, and have more than proved that they are as good of a nonstick cooking surface as one can get, further more their nonstick qualities only improve with age. "Cast Iron" cookware also comes without harmful health risks or warnings!

My decision was an easy one, I banned coated nonstick cookware, and I now only allow steel, glass or cast iron to grace my kitchen shelves. I hope that you can also make that same health conscious decision for your family sake, as well as, for the sake of the environment that we live in. The children of tomorrow will greatly appreciate the healthier choices that you make today!

Sources:

http://www.natur echest.com/safetytips.html
http ://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id =1325178
http://lowfatcooking.a bout.com/od/healthandfitness/a /nonstickpans.htm
http://www.wa shingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conten t/article/2006/01/25/AR2006012 502041.html

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