| Archeologists have
found that the materials and technologies used
for making chopsticks have always mirrored the
technological skills and cultural environments
of their times. For example, the people of Shang
Dynasty (c. 1500 BCE to 1066 BCE) made chopsticks
out of copper. Similarly, the people of Ching
Dynasty (1644 to 1912) crafted highly decorative
chopsticks.
Centuries from now, what kind of chopsticks will
archeologists discover? How will the chopsticks
reflect contemporary Taiwan?
In 2000 Taiwan’s Environmental Protection
Administration estimated that the 23 million people
in Taiwan use about 2.8 million pairs of disposable
chopsticks daily, or approximately 1 billion pairs
a year.
In the early 1980’s, the Taiwanese government
urged everyone to use disposable chopsticks to
avoid the transfer of Hepatitis B. At the time,
all restaurants from the fanciest establishments
to noodle stands in small alleys complied and
made the change. Yong-Hsu Hsu , who lives in Nanto
County’s Bamboo Mountain Village, an area
famous for growing bamboo since the Ching Dynasty,
remembers that 90 percent of the residents were
working overtime to manufacture disposable bamboo
chopsticks to meet increased demands.
Bamboo’s fibrous quality makes it strong,
flexible, and the ideal material for making chopsticks.
The first machine that manufactured bamboo chopsticks
was invented in 1932 by Heh-Shun Chang who lived
on Bamboo Mountain. During the 1950s and 1960s,
he owned 95 bamboo chopstick factories. Not only
did he provide chopsticks for all of Taiwan, but
he also exported them to Japan.
In the 1980s, machines for manufacturing disposable
chopsticks became available after technology was
improved to speed up the production process. Noise
emanated into the streets from the machines working
non-stop day and night. Han-Liang Lin, head of
the local trade association, can remember the
height of production when all of Bamboo Mountain’s
residents — over 1,000 families —
helped to make the chopsticks. “People who
had bamboo growing on their land cut down the
bamboo, those who didn’t helped make the
chopsticks. You could see three generations of
family members working together, young and old.
Later, when there was no more bamboo on Bamboo
Mountain, bamboo was imported from other areas
of Taiwan. You could see in one day, there were
100 trucks filled with bamboo driving in and out
of Bamboo Mountain.”
The Dangers of Disposable Chopsticks
For many years some environmental groups have
been arguing unsuccessfully for a reduction in
the use of disposable chopsticks. However, in
the year 2000, researchers reported that sulfur
dioxide (SO2) is introduced into disposable chopsticks
during the manufacturing process. This can cause
asthma. With a push from a few Taipei city council
members, the media finally helped bring this to
the public’s attention.
In August 2000, the Consumer Foundation tested
10 different disposable chopsticks acquired randomly
from separate locations. They contained varying
levels of sulfur dioxide. However all were within
safe limits according to Food Safety Rules.
Sales of disposable chopsticks dropped during
that time, but have since returned to previous
levels. It seems that people do care about their
health when it comes to what goes into their mouths,
but that they care much less about which country’s
forest is being destroyed to manufacturer the
chopsticks.
The only way to reduce the use of disposable chopsticks
is to change people’s perceptions. Tzu Chi
has been promoting this concept successfully.
For several decades, Dharma Master Cheng Yen has
inspired Tzu Chi volunteers to carry their own
chopsticks, thus reducing the number used and
reducing the waste of resources.
In addition to changing people’s perceptions,
Master Cheng Yen also asked a Tzu Chi volunteer
Shun-Chung Shen to design environmentally friendly
portable chopsticks. The former gold medal winner
of the Japanese International Inventions Exposition,
Shen said, “Master Cheng Yen has very high
standards. The material needs to be durable and
environmentally friendly. The design needs to
be simple so that kids and seniors alike can use
them with ease. Also, it needs to be aesthetically
pleasing to the eye.” After a year of perfecting
it, Shen’s design finally met the approval
of Master Cheng Yen. Today, the environmentally
friendly chopsticks are used all over the world
by Tzu Chi volunteers.
The emergence of these chopsticks represents an
awakening in human thinking. In fact, the mindset
of many people today is that using disposable
chopsticks is very wasteful, and carrying a pair
of portable chopsticks is the best solution.
The next step is to use the power of the media
to help people understand our planet’s limited
resources and spread these positive ideas far
and wide.
Our goal is that when future archeologists look
at our generation, disposable chopsticks won’t
take center stage. Otherwise, archeologists might
conclude, “21st century Taiwanese used disposable
chopsticks. These chopsticks were the worst in
history, causing tremendous destruction to the
world’s environment.”
Chopsticks, which have existed over thousands
of years, have become associated with environmental
destruction. We cannot bear the responsibility
of allowing this moment to tarnish thousands of
years of history.
Source
Rhythms Magazine #41
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