| |
| No, I don't make bamboo
cutting boards, and neither, as far as I know, does anybody in the US. Yes, they're
rather attractive, and very cheap, but as is so often the case, you get what you
pay for. What particularly bothers me is that people think they're doing the ecologically
correct thing in buying bamboo instead of wood. Consider the following: the vast
majority of bamboo products come from China, not exactly known for its sound ecosystem
management. Most Chinese bamboo comes from monoculture plantations that destroy
biological diversity. Bamboo's hardness depends on its silica content, so bamboo
will either mark up easily, or if it's hard enough to not mark up easily, it will
quickly dull your knife's edges. Bamboo products rely on large quantities of glue
to hold them together, as the pieces are far smaller than anyone would make a
wood cutting board from. China has recently been discovered to be selling lead
painted toys in the US market, and plastic tainted wheat gluten in pet food. Do
you want to be cutting your food on bamboo held together with gobs of mystery
glue? For a detailed discussion of the merits and demerits of bamboo as a wood
substitute visit
this link. | |  | |
|