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Surely chefs prefer stainless steel and cast iron? They should peddle that instead
this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2025
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Environment
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Environment:
The totality of the natural world, often excluding humans.
A subset of the natural world; an ecosystem.
The combination of external physical conditions that affect and influence the growth, development, behavior, and survival of organisms.
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They can be found in the blood of every person.
When they were trying to do a study and compare people without them in the blood, they went as far as remote indigenous populations, faraway Eskimos, basically anyone they could think of that had absolutely 0 contact with modern civilization. Nope. PFAS. It's worse if you're in the first world (probably significantly worse if you're in the US), but it's everywhere. Anywhere there is water, there is PFAS.
They caused multiple municipalities to experience ridiculous rates of cancer, birth defects, dead animals, and all sorts of other health issues caused by teflon, then they only had to pay 16 million in fines, as a corporation that makes billions in profit every year, and changed the structure of one atom and kept on doing it.
Fuck DuPont for poisoning literally every single person on the planet and fuck the government for allowing it.
Edit: They were doing it for like 50+ years before they even got the paltry fine. There is an admission price for crimes against humanity.
I'm sure the North Sentinelese have it.
Good luck checking. Those guys are awful about hospitality
Unless you show up with a lady and some coconuts.
Is that how that one dude survived?
Not sure which dude you're talking about.
I wonder if they have more or less microplastics in them than someone from Europe or America. 🤔
Why chefs? No restaurant I have ever worked in had Teflon pans. All we're stainless steel as the coating of Teflon pans waster away within days of constant use
They're not using them in their restaurants, they're hawking them to the general public.
Then calling them “chefs” is deceptive.
The real article title should be
California Wants to Ban ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Pans. These Forever-Chemical-Pan Salesmen Say Don’t Do It.
Snakeoil salesman upset that they can't sell their snakeoil
I've worked at places that used Teflon for the omelettes and brunch eggs. They only lasted a month or so before they needed replacement.
Its not a requirement for good eggs tho
Food sticking to the pan is a skill issue, figured these chefs would know that. Get good scrub... unless it's a cast iron then don't scrub it too hard.
Gonna throw it out there - I'm not trusting a chef's opinion on chemistry and health science over a scientist
with cast iron you scrub harder... it likes it harder
I'm not trying to defend PFAS, especially on the manufacturing side. But it's my understanding if you ingest small particles that have been scratched off into your food, they are pretty harmless and pass out in your waste. It's the liquid stuff that gets into the environment that's poisoning everyone. To clarify, I'm for banning the stuff. But I think the dangers of the finished pans might be overstated.
The chefs saying not to do it must be shitty chefs (or sell crappy cookware themwelves and are just trying to keep their con going).
The best cookware you can get is strsight up cast iron. No chemical coatings. No toxic metals. And they can double as home defense weapons.
As a pansexual, you can trust I know a thing or two about pans. 😌
I hear for some purposes carbon steel is better, but what would I know I'm a homosexual, I can only give advice about homes
My condolences, I wish you could give advice about more things.
I started with cast iron but these days I'm all about the allclad. Just stainless steel with a copper core. A beauty to cook with.
I am also pansexual, but we might mean different things.
I love cast iron cookware. I have both a Dutch oven and an 18" frypan that both come with me when camping for meals.
I cannot deal with cast iron on a glass top stove (which is what we have at home). I refuse to use gas stoves, the resistive coils are typically really shitty, and induction doesn't work with all my pans (including the cast iron).
I really wish I could use my more reasonably sized cast iron, but most have a casting ring around the bottom, and all of them could break or scratch my stove's glass top.
Enamel coated cast iron is what you are looking for. The ones that are coated on the outside but bare on the inside.
They are safe for glass tops stoves but you get to season the inside like a normal one
What is a glass top stove? I tried to Google it but didn't get anywhere. I assume you don't mean glass over induction or resistance.
Induction/resistance.
That's what confuses me, he seems to describe glass top stoves as something else entirely
They are really uncommon in the USA so if they are American they might not understand the differences.
Cast Iron is the way.
Carbon steel is also great.
Although if I'm cooking something acidic I'll use a stainless steal pan.
I use carbon steel or stainless too. Cast iron has a big fan base, but having used both i don't think cast iron has any real advantages over carbon steel.
Sadly I put the years in using poison pans before I ever considered that there might be an issue with non stick.
Hey, that's MY pan!
Carbon steel pans are a thing? I only have knives.
Yep. You season and treat it just like cast iron. It's normally lighter and harder to break that cast iron.
Carbon steel knives are cool if your good at sharpening and honeing often but I actually prefer my stainless steel knifes.
I have owned exactly one nonstick pan, more than 20 years ago, that was enough to convince me they were not a good idea. Cast iron gets better and better with time, nonstick wears out and gives off fumes that kill birds.
They are not good.
I like that there's a group of chefs mentioned as if considering their professional opinion makes their stance any more intelligent