which is more ethical?

Sometimes, I am eating with just my plain hand, and still, I refuse to be called as barbarian. The word "ethical" itself would be depend on your culture. Some cultures say it is barbar, some others say it as just fine. But I encourage to follow the culture of people around you used. If people around you used to eat with fork and knife, then try to learn eating with fork and knife, and so.. Cultural rules and cultural punishments, maybe it is not written, but it is always exist. So I think we have to make an adjustment Anyway, I can't say anything about things that happened in Canada that you mentioned earlier. I would say it is too much, but if it is their cultural rules, what should I say?

Customs have nothing to do with ethics. But years ago, people were less aware of this and other facts and thought that there was only one correct way. It still happens in politics and religion, I´m afraid, but there are other issues that do not worry anyone anymore. I eat, write and do everything with my left hand. Yet, when I was a child, my father had to go to see the headmistress every year to tell her that I was not to have problems because of that. I have several friends who are lefthanded yet eat with their right hand because they did not let them do it othewise. I think that it is barbaric not to be aware of the right of other people to dress differently, to eat differently and to behave in othr ways.

I think that each custom must be respected. I haven't had any practice of eating with chopsticks for years so if I had to do that I would find it quite difficult. I think that it is fine the people use a fork and a spoon in the Philippines. I believe that it was wrong to have a case against a parent that let his or her child use a fork and a spoon to eat. In my home country a six month old baby would be fed with a plastic spoon. As a toddler he or she would gradually master feeding himself or herself. As a child he or she would learn to use a fork, knife and spoon here in the United Kingdom.

In Nigeria, and in most african countries the culture is different from what is found in europe,asia and america. We use our hands to eat our food. We wash our hands and keep them very clean and we really enjoy the food much more better than eating with spoon, fork and knives. I think the african culture on eating with hands rather than cutlery is something that may look strange to people of other culture but we like it and we enjoy it and it is part of our culture.

I heard about that in the news, but that has been quite a while ago (I am a resident of Canada). I believe it would be a very ignorant move of Canada to create such a rule/law preventing people on how to eat VIA utensils or whatever. There is no law currently that prevents a person from eating without using proper utensils, not that I know of. If there was it would be very ignorant. For a more barbaric way of eating, it is using hands, but it is NOT wrong either. Every culture in the world, eats with there hands, or touch food using their hand for that matter. In north america, people eat hamburgers, pizzas all with hands. You can choose to eat it with utensils but you don't have to. Canada being part of North America in my indications, they also eat with their hands in many occasions. So it would be definitely ignorant for a country to rule out a way a person is eating their food. As long as it isn't messy or disgusting looking like throwing their garbage on the floor in front of you, while you yourself is eating, then it is totally fine. Always mind your manners, and never be ignorant on how a person is. Cheers!

I can't believe something this trivial would be against the law anywhere, let alone in Canada. Each culture has its preferred eating utensils and its own etiquette. If someone violates the etiquette, he would proably just be considered ignorant or rude. This is really hard to believe.

In my opinion, this is not a matter of ethics. How we use the eating utensil and how we conduct ourselves at the dining table, or anywhere for that matter, are more important than what utensils we use. Different people have different preferences and we need to respect that.

charging for not using proper eating utensils is seems ugly,rubbish.i am Indian and we Indians also use knife and spoons generally only spoons it doesn't mean that anybody can charge us for not eating with proper utensils in my country except chopsticks we use all kinds of eating utensils and dishes,this law is really harsh and seems made by any ideot..!

Each culture has its own norms that most people follow. But to charge someone because of not using proper eating utensils is quite unbelievable unless, there is the standing policy in the restaurant posted in a place where where everybody can read it and they openly disregard it.

Is that really important on what to use in the dining table? I don't know if that is really about being ethical or barbaric. I think the case there is that what is the tradition or culture that was started by the family during eating in the dining table and what utensils they used. Based on your story, maybe there is a law against using spoon or maybe they had a grudge on spoons(hehehe);