It's Not Easy Being Green: A Mission to Shrink my Carbon Footprint

I was sort of doing an inventory of my kitchen and discovered that both of my lovely non-stick expensive pasta-cooking pots had scrapes and scratches in the non-stick coating.

I figured, hey, it's not SUCH a big deal, is it?

And then I went to the internet, as I so often do when I'm curious about something.

www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/teflon4.htm

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/15/FDGMFD2KM01.DTL

http://www.naturalpath.com/healthy_eating/teflon_coating_are_your_pans_and_cookware_safe

It goes on and on.

I recognize, of course, that the internet is prone to hyperbole and misinformation all over...but I also recognize that if certain fumes kill birds but not humans, that doesn't necessarily mean nothing's happening to the humans who breathe them.   To dismiss human reaction to the fumes as "mild flu-like symptoms" seems to miss the point...anything that makes me sick to breathe I probably don't need in my kitchen.

So I threw away my two favorite stockpots. I still have my omelette pan and my two skillets, and so far my 11 quart stockpot seems to be flake-free.  But they will have to go fairly soon, I fear.  And then today I stopped at Ikea and got a couple of stainless steel pans that should do the job...but I'll miss my non-stick.

peace,

J