Non-stick cookware a threat to your health? Or just for the birds?

Sigh. The list never ends. Whether it's hidden animal ingredients or testing, unfair business practices or environmental policies, or just plain safety: The list of products to eschew grows longer the more attention you pay.

This time the culprit is non-stick cookware. Hat tip to Green LA Girl on BlogHer for pointing me to this study from the Environmental Working Group on how Teflon releases toxic fumes within minutes of being heated up...and that it's known and acknowledged to kill birds.

I think it's safe to say these are modern canaries in the coal mines of our kitchens. And while their lungs may be much, MUCH tinier than ours, so we can all debate how long it would take to kill us...I'm really not comfortable with using something that would kill a bird if I had one. Are you?

Unfortunate that we just received a bunch of Calphalon cookware as wedding gifts. Guess I unknowingly registered to be slowly poisoned.

There are three suggestions:

-Cast Iron

-Stainless Steel

plus

-A new non-stick alternative called GreenPan

The question is whether you'll trust that GreenPan is truly safe...or if we just haven't figured out yet how it's dangerous.

I'm torn. I really can't imagine throwing out all of this very new and very expensive cookware. I don't cook a lot or for extended periods. I don't own birds. The EWG mostly wants warnings affixed to warn bird owners, not humans.

What would you do?

Cross posted at Elisa's Green Scene

Comments

[Katie]

I have had my non-stick pans for 5 years and had a bird for a year before I found out about the danger. I had the bird in another room and it still died. I have been sick my self for the past few days. I think this is all due to possibly over heating the pan a couple of days ago? Maybe? Just thinking of the smell of those non-stick pans makes me sick to my stomach. I'm getting another set and thank you for the list above. I'm not quite sure what to do with my expensive non-stick pains either. This is dedicated to Phoenix who has watched out for me the entire time I had him.