Are chopsticks sustainable?

It is a battle that has divided East and West for centuries: Are chopsticks superior to the knife and fork? Now the debate may finally be decided, on environmental grounds. With 1.4 billion people ploughing through 80 billion pairs of throwaway chopsticks each year, China has admitted its forests can no longer provide enough cutlery for its dinner tables. “We must change our consumption habits and encourage people to carry their own tableware,” said Bo Guangxin, the chairman of Jilin Forestry Industry Group, to his fellow delegates at the National People’s Congress.