Recently, we have seen many advertisements for “tree-less” based paper products. While we at PLANT applaud the effort to save our trees, we are concerned by the cognitive dissonance of those who advocate these products - they are made from bamboo, after all.
It is true that bamboo is not a tree. It is a plant.
According to Encyclopaedia Brittanica: “Bamboo, (subfamily Bambusoideae), subfamily of tall treelike grasses of the family Poceae comprising more than 115 genera and 1,400 species. Bamboos are distributed in tropical and subtropical to mild temperate regions, with the heaviest concentration and largest number of species in East and Southeast Asia and on islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. A few species of the genus Arundinaria are native to the southern United States, where they form dense canebrakes along riverbanks and in marshy areas.”
Does the fact that bamboo is not a tree make it any less worthy of our protection than the mighty Oak or the majestic Evergreen?
Do we base our determination about the worthiness of our flora solely on its appearance and usefulness?
Does their genera make them any less of a living creature than trees that are traditionally used for the pulp?
We at PLANT say, “No!” it does not and we urge you also to say, "No!"
Say, “No!” to the murder of our bamboo cousins.
Say, "No!" to the cruel and heartless machinations of man's evil mind.
Say, "No!" to the wanton destruction of our flora.
Let us protect the bamboo from the evils wrought by man.