Turns Out, Paper Straws Are Bad For You And The Planet: Study

Do you hate those paper straws with every fiber of your being? Well, good news — you might have a medical and environmental excuse never to use them again. Turns out, new information suggests they are worse for both you and the planet.

A study out of Belgium published in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants suggests that “forever chemicals” or “PFAS” — officially called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — were found in the majority of both paper and bamboo straws tested. Such chemicals have the potential to cause cancer and other ailments.

Per the study, eighteen different PFAS were detected in total — and the most common one was banned globally in 2020. Those chemicals are also bad for the environment. According to the study, plastic straws contain fewer PFAS.

As flagged by USA Today, the study concluded, “These ‘eco-friendly’ plant-based straws are not necessarily a more sustainable alternative to plastic straws because they can be considered as an additional source of PFAS exposure in humans and the environment (e.g., after degradation in landfills or through incomplete incineration).”

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It is worth remembering that before the world lost its mind over COVID and masking, it went bananas over plastic straws, thanks in large part to a viral photo of a sea turtle with debris up its nose. In 2015, an online petition using that exact image amassed nearly 150,000 signees while demanding that Starbucks ban the little suckers. Starbucks succumbed and pledged to go paper or another alternative to plastic by 2020.

The rest of the West followed, and voila, millions around the world have suffered from flimsy drinking devices. Turns out, we may have also been harming our bodies and the planet in the process.

If anything, this story serves as another reminder — if it seems like mass hysteria is gripping the nation and that corporations or politicians are getting caught up in it, you’re probably being sold a false bill of goods in one way or another.