Help CA say "See ya!" to PFCs

Some years ago, I started avoiding Teflon-coated cookware after hearing that the nonstick chemicals, while awfully convenient for cooking, are awful for human health. They're called perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and it turns out that they're awful for the environment, too (especially if you're this species of turtle, or a pet bird).

So today, when I got an email from the Environmental Working Group informing me that PFCs are used in various types of grease-resistant food packaging (for things like microwavable popcorn, fast food, and pizza)—and that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is threatening to veto a bill in the California state legislature that would ban the use of PFCs in food packaging—I did the email's bidding, calling the gov and signing the petition. If you'd like to do the same, click here.

To me, the most irksome thing this battle has revealed is the fact that we have no way of knowing which specific packages contain PFCs. As this page from the Environmental Working Group's site puts it, "consumers are unfairly deprived of their essential right to know and to make informed, independent decisions.... [A] consumer going to the store would not know which brands to avoid because manufacturers are conveniently withholding this crucial information."

How about some legislation requiring transparency in this arena?

Comments

[Sustaino]

Given your knowledge and talent for blogging about BPA, PCB's and other nasties in plastic - I'm curious to know if you have reviewed/researched anything on Atrazine. I've been following this toxin for a while...should be an interesting post for you.

Regards,
Sustaino

www.sustaino.blogspot.com

[Sustaino]

PFC's are found in many things...not just teflon. Try Scotchgard, Stainmaster, and Gore-Tex. Additionally, phthalates and other nasties (e.g. BPA, PCBs, PBDEs)are now being tracked and documented by The Environmental Working Group through a public database for common personal care products and cosmetics. They are doing a better job of educating women about the lead in lipstick which is commonly used as an emulsifier to prevent it from melting. Check it out here, known as Skin Deep,http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php

Thanks,
Sustaino

[Bronwyn]

Hi Sustaino: Thanks for your comments! Yes, it is indeed dismaying how many things contain PFCs. Thank god for EWG -- I've blogged about their Skin Deep database before, and I link to it in my Tools for Consumers list, hoping to spread the word about it. As a new parent, I'm using it more and more myself to determine what products are safe for my daughter.

[R F Thieme]

Speaking of teflon ... a dear friend who LOVED her two cockatoos devotedly acidentlaly left on the burner under a teflon pan for an hour after cooking dinner. It was so low the gathered adults did not notice, but one cockatoo died on the spot and the other died in her hands on the way to the vet. Teflon toxicity. Are these birds the proverbial cockatoos in the coal mine? What is the danger to humans?

Thanks Wallet Mouth for your wonderfully helpful and informative site.

R F Thieme