Chopping for Chopsticks
by Victoria, 8 October, 2013, 0 comments
Recently a friend of mine exclaimed that China gets through 80 billion disposable chopsticks a year. This is enough to fill Tiananmen Square three times over. With a population of 1.4 billion, the demand for these utensils is eating away at China’s forests, at a staggering rate. China's natural forest resources are extremely limited (139th in the world); despite this, 3.8 million trees a year are being cut down - that is, about 100 acres every 24 hours.
This deforestation is having knock-on environmental effects, causing landslides, flooding and leading to climate change. One of the contributors to forest over-exploitation is the demand for disposable chopsticks. The situation is not looking any more promising as the uptake for Asian cuisine is becoming more common across the globe. Read more...
