Review: The Devil We Know

Photo by Renato Danyi from Pexels

Today, I'm reviewing a real life horror story that affects every person on the planet.

After watching the documentary, The Devil We Know: The Chemistry of a Cover-Up, I was enraged, horrified, and sick to my stomach.

I felt all of that to think so many people put making bigger bucks ahead of the safety and health of people and the environment itself.

If you cook in Teflon® or use anything with Teflon® in it—you'd be surprised how many products contain this health hazard—please read on.

Then go watch The Devil We Know: The Chemistry of a Cover-Up. The embedded link takes you to the documentary's website. If you click See the Film, a window opens with a variety of options for viewing. Or, if you have Netflix, watch it free there.

What's It About?

Pexels Photo #67654 by Martin Foskett

Quoting from the website:

"The Devil We Know is the story of how one synthetic chemical, used to make Teflon products, contaminated a West Virginia community.

"But new research hints at a much broader problem: nearly all Americans are affected by exposure to non-stick chemicals in food, drinking water, and consumer products.

"With very little oversight on the chemical industry in this country, we invite you to learn more about the problem and how you can protect yourself and your family."

Oh. My. God.

From the website: "American babies are born pre-polluted with more than 200 chemicals in their blood, 180 of which are known to cause cancer in humans and animals." and "PFOA, also called C8, is a toxic chemical used to make Teflon. It's now in the blood of 99% of all Americans."

In viewing the documentary, I learned that researchers wanted a control group who had no Teflon in their blood in order to conduct a study of the dangers of Teflon. To find non-polluted blood, they had to go back to blood drawn from U.S. soldiers before they were sent overseas during the Korean Conflict.

Pexels Photo #568027 by Kat Jayne

It's horrifying to learn that there are 80,000 chemicals approved for use in products in the U.S. and very few of them have been adequately tested for safety in humans.

What's more horrifying is to learn that DuPont knew about the dangers.

In an infamous memo regarding whether to stay with Teflon or find a new chemical that would possess non-stick properties, a DuPont official wrote: "It's better to stay with the devil we know..."

After all, Teflon resulted in billions of dollars for the company.

When the excrement hit the fan, DuPont settled with claimants whose health, if not their very lives, had been ruined. In an extraordinary act of generosity, those named in the lawsuits used the money to set up a foundation to monitor residents of the contaminated community.

What did DuPont do? They sold the Teflon® licensing rights to a Chinese company then announced their "new" non-stick product, GenX®, which has been used in products after 2015. They moved their plant from West Virginia to south of Fayetteville, North Carolina, on the west bank of the Cape Fear River.

Is GenX Safe?

You can judge for yourself. Here are some articles to help you.

GenX found in vegetables grown near the Dutch plant.

What's GenX doing in the water downstream (of the Cape Fear River plant)

Chemours to clean up GenX and pay 12 Million dollar fine

But Wait There's More

Before I get more upset just writing this and remembering the scenes from the documentary, let me give you a list of products you might not realize contain PFOA aka C8 aka Teflon®—and maybe now GenX®.

Glide and other brands of Dental Floss (we switched to silk dental floss from Amazon)

Takeout containers like pizza boxes and sandwich wrappers

Non-stick pots, pans, and utensils of course (we put all our Teflon® items in the garbage)

Microwave Popcorn bags (quit using them a couple of years ago because of the trans fat issue)

Outdoor clothing

Camping tents

Stain-repellant or water-repellant clothing

Stain prevention treatments for clothing and furniture (Won't pay extra for stain-prevention on furniture ever again!)

Carpeting and stain-resistant carpet treatments (can't do anything about the carpet at this time)

Certain cosmetics, especially eye shadow, foundation, face powder, bronzer, and blush (I'm looking into all-natural cosmetics. I'll let you know what I find.)

Please, please, please... watch this documentary and share it with everyone you can.

Go to the documentary website and download their Tip Sheet: Avoiding PFAS, a Family of Chemicals You Don't Want Near Your Family.

You'll find the link near the bottom of the home page.

There is power in truth, and there is power in numbers. Re-think the convenience items you're using.

Changing to products without Teflon aka C8 aka PFOA or GenX, the "new" non-stick incarnation DuPont developed, may save your life.

Takeaway Truth

Be informed. What you don't know might kill you.