Two Chinese children eat lunch on the roadside using chopsticks
Chopsticks have been used by the Chinese as eating utensils since early antiquity. The even length sticks are used like tongs to pick up small pieces of food. Usually made of either bamboo or wood, there are many rules of etiquette in the use of chopsticks such as only being used in the right hand. Today chopsticks are becoming an environmental issue in China because of the resources consumed in the use of so many disposable items by such a large population. Re-usable chopsticks are being popularized as a means of conserving resources.