Useful household tip Green Pans

January 19, 2009
The New York Collection of Green PansI was watching "Stuff Happens" on Planet Green the other day and Bill Nye the Science Guy told me that I should stop using my mangled old non-stick pans, or I just might die. Since Bill Nye was often used in my science classes in school I figure he can be trusted and so I tossed my old pans in the recycling bin, took my Target gift cards from Christmas and headed to the store to buy a Green Pan.Teflon Coatings
Here's the long and short of it. Non-stick Teflon pans have polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE for short, in them. The stuff that peels off when you use metal spatulas on them, or other wash too hard is full of PTFE which, at least according to Bill Nye, has proven to be a carcinogen to mice.
DuPont, the owner of the Teflon trademark, understandably claims that no harm can come from using PTFE-coated pans or utensils. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agrees.
But not everyone agrees! They also say there is no difference in dairy products from cows treated with hormones, but I don't buy that either.
"Some skeptics and consumer watchdogs, however, fret about the chemicals involved in making PTFE, most of which are extremely toxic. In fact, some of the chemicals are so toxic that workers at DuPont developed polymer fume fever with flu-like symptoms when exposed to PTFE manufacturing chemicals, particularly perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)."
You can believe who you want, but my general feeling is this: I see no reason to put more chemicals into my body than necessary. Soon, in won't matter, because DuPont and other makers of non-stick goods have pledged to stop using PTFE over the next few years. Until then you have a few choices: cast iron pans, Heat Resistant Coating ceramics, or Green Pans. I have a GIANT cast iron pan that I bought for camping. It's very heavy, and a bit more maintenance than your average pan -- and since it isn't seasoned quite properly yet, it's not really "non-stick." I didn't feel like I knew enough about ceramic pans to buy one and know it's not toxic, so I went for the easy choice, the Green Pan.
Green Pans use a technology called Thermolon -- almost as creepy sounding as Teflon -- but in their words:
"We at GreenPan™ have taken this to heart and turned our attention to the environmental and health issues surrounding our products. In contrast to the classical PTFE-based non-stick technology (using PFOA as a processing agent), Thermolon™-coated cookware releases 50% fewer greenhouse gases during production and contains NO toxic substances that could be released at high temperatures. GreenPan™ brings you the latest development in non-stick cookware, a completely PTFE-free product. Thermolon™, a non-stick-coatings on high quality cookware."
The pans are a little pricy but if you're going out to buy a decent set of pans, it's worth to money to not have to worry about what you're ingesting.
For more info:
Nonstick Cookware Safety: Are There Alternatives to Teflon?