THE NEW YORK TIMES – For decades, Americans have been sold a slick fantasy, that if your eggs don’t slide out of a pan like a Vegas card trick, you’re doing it wrong.
It began in the 1960s and 1970s, when Teflon pans flooded into American kitchens on a promise of domestic perfection: no scrubbing, no sticking, no mess.
The clever marketing hid a dangerous truth: Teflon coatings were made with chemicals that can end up in food when pans overheat or are scratched. Behind closed doors, chemical companies knew of the toxic risks long before the public did.
These PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are called forever chemicals for good reason. They don’t break down, lingering in our blood, water and soil. They’ve been linked to cancer, infertility, thyroid disease, developmental delays and immune dysfunction.
“Eliminating PFAS in cookware would reduce the spread of contamination, protect future generations and, as a bonus, allow us to rediscover how to actually cook.”
When PFAS are made, to coat a pan, a raincoat or a mascara wand, they can contaminate the surrounding groundwater.
Communities near manufacturing sites that use these chemicals have some of the most polluted drinking water in America. That’s why about 30 states, including my home state, Minnesota, have adopted restrictions on these chemicals, with at least 14 outright or partial bans on sales of consumer goods with PFAS.
California may soon follow suit. If Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the bill on his desk, cookware containing forever chemicals will be banned from sale in the state beginning in 2030.
Because California is the fourth-largest economy in the world, it can help remake the industry in a positive way. America as a whole will be better off: healthier, safer and perhaps even more skilled at cooking.
The only losers will be the companies that built fortunes convincing us we couldn’t live without their slippery science experiment …
