If eaten or smoked, yes!

If used properly, for limited usage, NO!

If you have flames, toxins, even if it's just carbon monoxide, are being produced. If you want completely non-toxic, eat cold rations.

Oh, wait, most rations come in a plastic lined bag or box, and we all know the dangers there.

Or foil- tin and aluminum have both been investigated as long term toxins.

If it came in a paper package, was it unbleached and unprocessed? Oh, the horrors of clorine and sulfer compounds!

Oh, that leaves you with a wooden box, which could give you splinters, and many woods have tannic acid or paraformeldahyde in them, both of which can cuase liver and kidney damage. Or it might be something with it's own poisons. And there is always the risk of nut allergies being tied to protiens in the wood.

And heaven forbid it has meat in it- it might have been irradiated. Or had growth hormones.

And the vegitables might have been treated with pesticides or ANY kind of fertilizer.

And no apples or pears, becuase they have cyanide in the seeds.

And no potatoes, they are related to nightshade, which is full of lethal alkaloids. And you can't trust grains, what if there was argote in the fields- another dangerous, hallucinagenic alkaloid that can kill you.

And it has to be cut small, so no one can choke.

And it has to start small becuase knives are sharp.

And you can't be too sure about the water unless it's been distilled, and even then, how can you know there are no contaminants leaching out of the glass?

Oh my gods! There is air. Air has nitrogen in it. You can drown in nitrogen, and it can cause the bends.

And air has carbon dioxide and monoxide in it. You can't breath those, you'll sufficate.

Oh, will the nightmare never end- oxygen, it is corrosive! It kills living tissue. It has already wiped out every living thing on this planet once, we must outlaw it before it can be used to kill again!

Get the point? EVERYTHING in the universe is TOXIC if you have TO MUCH of it. Used according to thier intended purpose and with proper and due respect for thier inheriant dangers (aka, ouch-hot), triox, hexi, sterno, nu-wicks and campfires are safe. Anyone who wants to worry about the femtoscopic dangers probably would have voted "yes" on the Californian stupidity that requires labeling of any product that might have a carcengenic component in it.

Life is a risk. Deal with it. And if you feel like you've been picked on, good. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Sometimes being poked with the "humble stick" is the only way to make humans work. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just pointing out that nothing is safe if used wrong. If I was being mean, I'd have used the "ugly stick". <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Follow the directions, use common sense, and wash your hands after handling the fuel and before handling the food. Wash the pot afterward.

By the way, welcome aboard, General. :P