Colleen Lindesay: Bring Your Own Chopsticks!

By Colleen Lindesay - November 14, 2008 Armed with data from a NASA satellite, a researcher at The Evergreen State College estimated the number of trees on our planet. Comparing that with population data, the scientist, Nalini Nadkarni, determined that there are about 61 trees per person here on Earth. Sounds like a lot, huh? Except when you consider how much wood each of us use. Look around and you'll see wood products everywhere: pencils, the frame of your house, furniture, books and paper...the list goes on and on. One area where you're bound to see more conservation efforts: chopsticks. According to The Independent, the Chinese alone use 45 billion pairs of chopsticks every year, created from 25 million full-grown trees. You read that right: 45 billion pairs a year. Treehugger covered the budding "bring your own chopsticks" movement in Asia. Much like San Francisco's ban on plastic grocery bags, the city of Taipei in Taiwan recently banned disposable chopsticks from convenience stores and supermarkets. If you frequently eat at restaurants that provide disposable chopsticks, consider packing your own. Trip Stixx offers steel chopsticks with banquet- and sushi-style tips and a handy carrying case; you can find lacquered sets with pretty designs at Everything Chopsticks. Colleen Lindesay lives, works, writes, drinks wine and eats in San Francisco. She keeps a blog about jam-making at Delights and Prejudices.  She writes her weekly column here every Friday.  It’s no wonder I’m always hungry after reading her posts.