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submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by meme_historian@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/aboringdystopia@lemmy.world

It seems I shouldn't have posted this without context

TL;DW

  • yes the video is (at least partially) about Teflon, hence the cynical title

  • no, Teflon (or generally big Fluoropolymers) are not the problem. Ingesting them does nothing to you, because as long, chemically inert polymers they just pass through you from one end to the other

  • The problem are perfluoroalkyl acids: C8 (PFOA) and later substitutes such as C6/GenX, PFOS, PFHA, PFHxS which are chemicals used to start the Teflon polymerization. They are short-chained carbon-fluorine molecules that coincidentally mimic the structure of fatty acids, thus can accumulate in our bodies without a way for our bodies to break them down.

  • These chemicals leach into the environment from factories and accumulate in everything, to the point that the whole water cycle has been contaminated (yes that shit comes down everywhere with the rain)

  • There is conclusive proof that PFOA exposure is linked to a number of organ damage and cancers, particularly testicular cancer and kidney cancer, with likely links to lung and pancreatic cancer not reflected in the study due to survivor bias (they died before the study was concluded)

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[-] Doomsider@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago

They can make Teflon without the forever chemicals. They choose to make it the way they do because it is cheap and easy to scale. Rather than develop better solutions that don't poison us they choose easy money and are rewarded for it.

[-] ConstantPain@lemmy.world 45 points 3 days ago

"We poisoned the planet"

Fuck off! Unscrupulous greed industrialists poisoned the planet knowingly and tried to hide or minimize the fact from the public.

[-] prex@aussie.zone 6 points 1 day ago

To be clear: This image is directed at the greedy industrialists.

[-] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 days ago

I'm curious where this money actually went. Like which specific people have it right now.

[-] ConstantPain@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

These persons paid a lot to have laws that exempt them from any responsibility.

[-] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 days ago

Sure, of course they're legally immune. Just curious who they are anyways.

[-] bstix@feddit.dk 80 points 3 days ago

For anyone who can't be bothered to watch the entire 1 hour episode: It's not really about frying pans.

The PFAs are everywhere by now. Butter on a pan will do jack shit to save you. It's really fucked up. You should watch the video.

[-] meme_historian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 48 points 3 days ago

Yup your most likely sources are stuff like:

  • your water supply
  • any coated paper materials coming into contact with (hot) food and beverages, eg. Burger wrappers, coated paper coffee cups, microwave popcorn, pizza boxes, etc.
[-] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 29 points 3 days ago

Firefighting foam used at airports. Every airport, every military base with an airstrip practices routinely with PFAS. They are still doing it.

It is everywhere. Water, soil, rain and you.

[-] nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 3 days ago

I lost a coworker to brain cancer this year that was caused by his exposure to PFAs when he was a firefighter. This shit is fucked.

[-] frezik@midwest.social 9 points 3 days ago

I happen to live near one. The city had to shut down a well until they could install a filter.

I also have an undersink RO system, but people shouldn't have to do that.

[-] Green_FieldS@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

For more information about this subject I recommend watching this documentary by independent journalism platform Zembla. That talks in detail about the company DuPont (Chemours) and PFOA. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y3kzHc-eV88&pp=ygULWmVtYmxhIHBmb2E%3D

[-] SnotFlickerman 49 points 3 days ago

Which is wild because if you knew how to properly use oil/butter and a cast iron pan... they won't stick to your pan.

We literally created a world of idiots that don't know how to do anything.

[-] JudahBenHur@lemm.ee 56 points 3 days ago

you are so much smarter than everyone else

[-] endeavor@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago

Literally a minute of googling. Takes more to make up arguments why youd still use a pan that kills you and has built in planned obsolesce.

[-] JudahBenHur@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

hello friend, the pan doesnt kill you. there is no PFOA in the pan you buy and is used to cook the food you buy in a restaurant, which you've done hundreds and hundreds of times. its the production of the material on the pan that produces the anti-life compounds.

we don't get cancer from using nonstick pans, we get cancer from the PFOA in the groundwater that was made during the production process.

it takes literally a minute of googling, but thank you for the condescending message, couldn't have lived without it

[-] endeavor@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago

Ingesting teflon particles is bad for you and all the studies assume you are not scraping your teflon pan when in reality the teflon coating DOES flake off over use and following the procedures manufacturers tell you to, thus you are ingesting teflon flakes wether you like it or not.

[-] SnotFlickerman 40 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Look it's not my fault people didn't get an opportunity to learn these skills because they were instead sold cheap, poisonous bullshit. Why would anyone learn if they didn't have to because there was an easier, cheaper way? It's not really the fault of individuals who don't know any better when society isn't going out it's way to teach them such skills. Hell, I didn't learn this until I was in my early thirties, because my parents had used teflon cookware all while I was growing up.

But, please, read it more as me thinking I'm better than everyone else rather than someone who got lucky enough to learn these skills eventually who is disappointed that we were sold poison as an 'easy' solution.

[-] prex@aussie.zone 4 points 1 day ago

Did you read the article? Have you tested your ground & drinking water? If you do drink water then you are at risk. Pans are not the problem, firefighting foams & industrial leaks are.

[-] bilb@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

I only drink Brawndo, so I'm good.

[-] AA5B@lemmy.world 15 points 3 days ago

While I agree and have switched to cast iron and stainless steel, it’s not enough. No pfas were used in the manufacturing of my cookware, plus I expect to save money by never having to replace it. However the documentary starts showing how ubiquitous the chemicals are and for how many uses. While we all absolutely need better cookware choices, it’s only a drop in the bucket of so many consumer and industrial products.

Our part includes increased awareness and better choices for many things we come into contact with every day. However it’s critical to better regulate, to hold companies accountable for the damage they’ve done, bring them to justice for impact on public health and coverups, etc 
. And that’s not just unlikely but really impossible

[-] teije9 13 points 3 days ago

I'm so happy that my parents taught me to always use cast iron pans, or at least nonstick with a ceramic layer instead of PFAS

[-] meme_historian@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Just to be fair though: ingesting Teflon residue from the pan isn't the problem, it's the chemicals needed in the production process to get the Teflon onto the pan, leaching out from the factories into the environment.

[-] ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Cast iron is generally safe but not entirely without risk. Old pans are sometimes made with lead and some newer cheap pans from sketchy sources are made with cadmium and/or lead

Generally if you get like a lodge or whatever you’re fine though. Biggest risk there is that it leeches iron into your food, which is usually beneficial unless you have some uncommon health concerns

A stainless steel pan are also generally safe but have similar issues: low quality pans and excessively scratched pans can leech nickel and chromium. 304 and 316 stainless ($$$) are more resilient against this issue. Stainless takes a bit more technique than cast iron for stuff like eggs and fish but it’s not that tricky (preheat pan, add fat/oil when hot, basically). It is also far more responsive to changing temperature (rather than retaining it) and much lighter so it’s easier to use for sautĂ©ing and such. Cast iron is superior when heat retention is needed: stews, soups, curries, roasts, etc

Ceramic coated cookware is a mess. Some did use PFAS/PFOA and still does, some ceramics have lead and cadmium, and some coatings just suck. I got one pan to experiment with that was lead/cadmium/pfoa/pfas free but the nonstick properties dulled after 2-3 months of daily use. It was not scratched or chipped; I took care to not use metal implements or wash it with abrasives. I did use high heat at times though which potentially degraded it. It was like $50 too. Researching online after I see there are “good” ones for $80, fuck spending that on a single pan.

I’ll stick with cast iron and stainless steel. Can use metal utensils, covers basically every scenario, and cheaper. To be clear, “well sourced” doesn’t mean expensive. A 10” lodge cast iron skillet is $20 online. A tramontina 12” 304 stainless frying pan is $35.

Of course if you ever eat at restaurants none of this matters as they’re generally using the cheapest aluminum and steel pans they can get that are beat to utter shit

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[-] Donebrach@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

We poisoned the planet for us

[-] accideath@feddit.org 21 points 3 days ago

Got myself a set of ceramic coated pans just a few days ago. Am very happy with them. No PFAS at all and much better anti stick than my old teflon pan.

[-] endeavor@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago

Just learn to use a stainless. The entire trick is literally only preheating.

[-] accideath@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago

I might, in the future, get myself a good (set of) steel pans. But for the time being, I have a pretty new set of brand name ceramic coated pans, that I got a very good deal on and that have much better anti stick characteristics than what I’ve seen steel being capable of doing and good steel pans are out of my budget rn.

[-] Joeffect@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

should i tell you?

Ceramic-coated cookware looks nice and seems like a safe option at first. After all, 100% ceramic is completely safe for cooking purposes. However, a coating of ceramic is usually hiding bad materials.

The soft ceramic coating isn’t the most durable and starts chipping after several months of everyday use. When that happens, lead and cadmium that is sometimes found in the coating will end up in your food and later in your body. Lead poisoning is one of the most dangerous types of metal poisoning and can result in abdominal pain, headaches, infertility, and other health complications (and in severe cases, coma and death). Even when the coating is lead-free, chipped cookware can still present dangers — it’s usually neurotoxic aluminum that’s under the ceramic coating.

[-] accideath@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago

Thanks but I specifically bought a set that was lead and cadmium free. Besides that, I don’t use those pans daily, so they’ll still last for a while. Maybe I’ll get steel after, but as of now, I like the characteristics of a good anti-stick coating a lot more than steel.

Also, as soon as they chip, they will be replaced anyways. Why would I cook with a broken pan? You wouldn’t use a steel pan with a hole in it either.

The „the aluminium underneath is unhealthy“ is just as terrible an argument as „the steel pan hurts more when you drop it on your foot“, imo.

Enameled cast iron is like magic.
Worst case I let it soak for a bit and it comes out clean with just a brush in a minute.

[-] altphoto@lemmy.today 7 points 3 days ago

The trick is to use wooden spoons to prevent scratching. Egg sticks to the scratches and forces you to make more scratches as you attempt to scrape it off.

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[-] Chocrates@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago

Yay, my generations lead poisoning. Fuck capitalism

[-] MetalMachine@feddit.nl 12 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Use stainless steel and cast iron and nothing else

[-] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Carbon steel, glass, clay, ceramic, aluminum, and enameled cast iron are all great too!

Also stainless steel has the potential to leach chromium into foods. Research into this is still preliminary.

[-] Eximius@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

If you watch the video, it says there is no reason to switch, as teflon is not poisonous. The catalyst chemicals in manufacturing when released into rivers and other places is the biggest source. Then some shoddy packaging of fast foods.

PFASes are not only used for your pan.

[-] endeavor@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago

Teflon flakes are poisunous. And your teflon pan becomes useless in a few years, no matter what you do Thanks to teflon flaking off.

Put two and two together. And then add: They need to manufacture a new pan for you.

[-] Eximius@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Teflon is just as poisonous as any plastic above breakdown temperature (260C). I.e.: not really.

There is no eternal item in the human mortal coil.

They could start throwing out steel slag into rivers from the factories, you know. Which is the analogue.

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this post was submitted on 16 May 2025
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