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Plastics are poisoning us

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Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#381

Post by bumby »

Retric wrote: post #337
jader201 wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Teflon Aka Polytetrafluoroethylene cookware represents a health hazard. Are you saying, then, that this claim [1] is false? It states that PTFE is safe, whereas PFOA — what Teflon used to contain — was the component that made Teflon unsafe. [1] https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/is-teflon-coating-safe

Here’s a direct quote from your link: “Health Risks of Teflon Coating Teflon is generally safe, but heating it to above 300 degrees Celsius or 570 degrees Fahrenheit poses a danger to your health.” Note they didn’t say Teflon was safe at 299C, the risk is chemical breakdown not a phase transition like water which boils at a specific temperature and pressure. When used properly pans shouldn’t get anywhere close to tha…

I see online a lot of talk of the temperature and off-gassing relationship. I've also heard that it's slightly misleading because it's temperature and time dependent, where the temperature risk has to occur in such a short period of time that it doesn't reflect cooking use. However, I could not find the off-gassing studies; do you have links? It seems like the temp of 340C most often cited, apparently from a DuPont study.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#382

Post by sheepybloke »

Gigachad wrote: post #68
mjamesaustin wrote: post #6

People consider it a shocking or impossible policy to ban single use plastics, but future generations will look back on plastics the same way we do at lead paint or asbestos. We're poisoning ourselves and our planet.

My city banned single use plastics ages ago. Plastic bags banned over a decade ago now. Plastic cutlery and containers banned in 2020. People freak out at the start and complain but no one cares and life continues on. Personally I bring my own bags to the supermarket since the paper ones are a bit annoying, but its trivial to just stuff one in my pocket before I leave.

I liked what San Jose did and turned single-use items to request only. It's amazing how little changes like that can be so impactful, where we switch from default include to default ask.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#383

Post by blueprint »

SapporoChris wrote: post #324
blueprint wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.

[flagged]

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#384

Post by kelipso »

Fricken wrote: post #379
kelipso wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'll breed themselves out, so it should work itself out over the long term.

A half billion years have passed since the invention of sex and they're still showing up. How long term are we talking?

I'm sure there were anti-natalist groups in the thousands of years of human history but well they weren't so numerous a 100 years ago, and they probably won't be so numerous a couple of hundred years from now either.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#386

Post by throwawayai2 »

joveian wrote: post #283
aziaziazi wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

4. Walking. A bit less minimalistic: ride your (non e-) bike, scooter, skateboard, kayak, sled, basically anything non motorized. Use best tire quality so you don’t change then often. A bite more minimalistic: prefer walking barefoot anytime you can. Shoes are tire that wear out. King of related: still looking for shoe/soles that last. My grand mother used to wear wood clogs, not sure where to find some that fits me.

For shoes, due to my health they get limited use and I can't really tell how durable they are but my first pair of Ahinsa shoes has lasted a couple of years without much wear. Not minimal in that they use high-tech ingredients (and are made on the other side of the world from me :/ ) but very nice shoes that seem likely to be reasonably durable (the thin sole takes some adjustment if you aren't used to it) and are pr…

Also https://www.lemsshoes.com/

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#387

Post by oezi »

rngname22 wrote: post #249
oezi wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand that Teflon might be a hazard in pans but feel like it reduces the amount of burned food in contrast to steel/iron pans so much for me that I hope it is a net gain. (sorry in advance for all who want to suggest iron skillets. I can't make them work in daily use.)

This is a bit like saying asbestos may be a hazard in walls but I just can't seem to get the knack for not lighting my house on fire :( I say that partially as a joke but also it does sort of sound a bit absurd, in the sense that your cooking techniques are just sort of wrong if you are repeatedly burning food to your non-non-stick pan. You need an oil or fat on your pan to provide a buffer or to bathe the food in li…

I guess this is the main reason. I am not used to use a lot of fat while preparing food.

Again this might be a balancing act of the negative effects of teflon consumption and consuming too much fat via oil.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#388

Post by oezi »

xeromal wrote: post #322
oezi wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand that Teflon might be a hazard in pans but feel like it reduces the amount of burned food in contrast to steel/iron pans so much for me that I hope it is a net gain. (sorry in advance for all who want to suggest iron skillets. I can't make them work in daily use.)

It becomes more of a fat hazard after this but if you use the proper amount of oil, you can make it impossible to burn food into your pan. lol.

Certainly true. So lets expand the hazard triangle to Fat VS Teflon VS Acrylamide.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#389

Post by oezi »

assbuttbuttass wrote: post #330
oezi wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand that Teflon might be a hazard in pans but feel like it reduces the amount of burned food in contrast to steel/iron pans so much for me that I hope it is a net gain. (sorry in advance for all who want to suggest iron skillets. I can't make them work in daily use.)

There are some great ceramic non-stick pans available these days.

Tried one and failed miserably.

Re: Plastics are poisoning us

#390

Post by marcosdumay »

rapunkill wrote: post #229
flavius29663 wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Plastic cutlery and containers banned What did they replace takeout containers with? Where I live, they replaced them with "paper" containers that are lined with teflon...

Here they replaced them with "reusable" plastic containers like these https://a.co/d/ekoVN0G ... and wooden cutlery

Yeah, every place I look people that decided to replace single-use plastic either goes for plastic-coated paper or "reusable" plastic that is thrown away after use.

But are a big net loss for any reason you can have to the ban.

If you make an awareness campaign, people will replace a lot of it with glass, metal, or plastic that actually gets reused. But they keep using a lot of single-use things. If you out-right ban them, people go directly to what can out-right replace them, and it's always those things.

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