I was impressed with Victoria Oyama's Aug. 4 letter, "Bamboo wood best for chopsticks." In the early 1950s, bamboo was used for many purposes in cooking, farming and fishing. However, in the 1960s, Japan took up industrialization, and substitutes were used for bamboo products. So chopsticks are expensive now.
Bamboo grows faster than trees in general. It grows so well that it intrudes on a neighbor's property. Takenoko (young bamboo shoots) in spring are a good example.
Earlier this month I had a chance to fly Air Canada, which distributed bamboo chopsticks. The airline seems more ecologically aware than Japan in general. Not only restaurants but also homemakers should avoid using disposable chopsticks, lest we destroy too many trees for the future.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.