Chinese Restaurant
A Chinese restaurant in Changsha, central China, apologized on Saturday for asking customers to weigh themselves before entering, as part of a nationwide campaign against food waste.
The restaurant was severely criticized on social networks in China as soon as this new policy was put in place this Friday, August 14. Customers were asked to stand on bathroom scales and enter their personal details into an app that would recommend food choices based on their weight and the calorific value of the dishes, according to state media China News Service.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the nation to stop wasting, as the coronavirus pandemic and severe flooding have led to soaring prices for food. In response, regional food services have asked their customers to order one dish less than the number of people at the table in order to end the long-established tradition of ordering excess food for group meals.
The war on food orgies
Posters in the Changsha Chinese restaurant trumpeted “Be thrifty and conscientious, promote empty plates” or “Operation Empty Plate” named after a nationwide campaign, according to photos in local media. In response, hashtags related to the incident were viewed more than 300 million times on the Weibo social network. The restaurant said it was deeply sorry for its interpretation of the anti-waste campaign.
“Our original intentions were to advocate an end to waste, and to promote healthy food orders. We never made customers weigh themselves, ”he said in an apology letter posted online Saturday morning. Chinese state media have also declared war on videos of food orgies, known as Korean “mukbang,” while live streaming platforms have pledged to shut down accounts promoting food in the country. excess and food waste.
