\n<\/p>\n
Gavin Newsom vetoed a California bill that was set to ban the sale of cookware and other consumer goods manufactured with Pfas, also known as \u201cforever chemicals\u201d, human-made compounds linked to a range of health issues.<\/p>\n
The governor\u2019s decision on Monday followed months of debate and advocacy, including from high-profile celebrity chefs such as Thomas Keller and Rachael Ray, who argued that nonstick cookware made with Pfas, when manufactured responsibly, can be safe and effective and urged lawmakers to vote against the proposal.<\/p>\n
Newsom said in a statement that the legislation was \u201cwell-intentioned\u201d but would affect too broad a swath of products and would result in a \u201csizable and rapid shift\u201d of cooking products available in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am deeply concerned about the impact this bill would have on the availability of affordable options in cooking products,\u201d Newsom wrote, adding that the state \u201cmust carefully consider\u201d the consequences of a dramatic shift in available products.<\/p>\n
Concerns over the use of Pfas, chemicals used to make cookware and other items non-stick and water-resistant, have grown significantly in recent years. Called \u201cforever chemicals\u201d, because they do not break down naturally, Pfas are used in non-stick cookware, waterproof mascara and dental floss, among other items.<\/p>\n
Pfas have been linked to a number of health issues, with some linked to high cholesterol, reproductive issues and cancer. A United States Geological Survey study in 2023 detected the chemicals in almost half the country\u2019s tap water.<\/p>\n
Under the bill approved by California\u2019s legislature, the state by 2030 would have banned the sale or distribution of goods, including cleaning products, cookware, floss, food packaging and ski wax, with \u201cintentionally added\u201d Pfas.<\/p>\n
The bill had the support of major environmental groups, as well as opposition from influential figures, such as Ray and Keller, and high-profile chefs who argued it would place an unfair burden on restaurants. Ray argued the focus should be on educating consumers rather than eliminating the products.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemoving access to these products without providing fact-based context could hurt the very people we\u2019re trying to protect,\u201d Ray said.<\/p>\n
Ben Allen, the state senator who introduced the legislation, told the Los Angeles Times he planned to keep working on the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are obviously disappointed,\u201d he told the newspaper. \u201cWe know there are safer alternatives \u2013 [but] I understand there were strong voices on both sides on this topic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, Newsom also vetoed legislation focused on racial justice, including a bill that would allowed universities to give the descendants of enslaved people preference in admissions preference, while approving funding for a reparations study. He also signed a bill allowing a wide range of family members to care for children if the federal government deports their parents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gavin Newsom vetoed a California bill that was set to ban the sale of cookware and other consumer goods manufactured with Pfas, also known as \u201cforever chemicals\u201d, human-made compounds linked to a range of health issues. The governor\u2019s decision on Monday followed months of debate and advocacy, including from high-profile celebrity chefs such as Thomas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[7518,142,667,2763,15456,12995,9326,2700,7699],"class_list":{"0":"post-28023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-banning","9":"tag-bill","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-chemicals","12":"tag-cookware","13":"tag-gavin","14":"tag-newsom","15":"tag-pfas","16":"tag-vetoes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}