Stop food waste: Changes on the dining table

BEIJING, Aug. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on China's recent efforts on curbing food waste:

"Big stomach" binge-eating livestreams have become popular around the world. But now, they are going out of fashion in China.

This change can be attributed to China's latest push to reduce food waste. Recently, President Xi Jinping stressed resolutely putting an end to food waste and called for people to cultivate thrifty habits. Following his appeal, local authorities have introduced concrete measures targeting the scourge of food waste.

In traditional Chinese dining, meals are served group-style with people sharing dishes. Catering associations in cities such as Wuhan and Guangzhou recently called on restaurants to encourage "N-1 ordering." For example, a group of 10 would start by ordering dishes for only nine people; if not enough, they could order more later. The Wuhan Catering Association also proposed offering half-size and smaller portions to small groups of diners. Many provinces and cities urged restaurants to give proper reminders on ordering dishes, and to redesign menus through practices such as serving smaller portions.

This is not the first time that China has promoted thrift and curbed food waste. In 2013, China launched an "empty plate" campaign, calling on its people to cherish food by not wasting anything on the dining table.

China boasts several thousand years of agricultural development. As the Chinese saying goes, "To the people, food is heaven." Since ancient times, food supply has been considered as the foundation of the people's well-being and national development. Throughout their time-honored agricultural history, the Chinese people have developed the virtue of "considering thriftiness as applaudable and waste as shameful."

According to UN, today, some 821 million people go to bed hungry every night all around the world. The coronavirus pandemic and extreme weather events of 2020 are estimated to push an additional 130 million people to the brink of starvation. Meanwhile, 1.3 billion metric tons of edible food is wasted globally each year, or enough to feed as many as 2 billion people.

In terms of food supply, China has become completely self-sufficient in grain and basically self-sufficient in cereal production. Its capacity for food security is above the international warning line. However, the country has always maintained a sense of crisis when it comes to food security.

China is promoting thriftiness and enhancing legislation and supervision in order to reduce waste during food production and consumption. Moreover, focusing on grain production, the country ensures that its arable land area does not fall below the minimum requirement, and adopts new technologies to develop efficient agriculture. In this way, China feeds 22% of the world's population with only 7% of the planet's arable land. The country attaches great importance to food security, taking measures to increase production and reduce waste. All these efforts, which demonstrate China's long-term respect for the land and nature, are aimed at realizing humanity's sustainable development in the future.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Stop food waste: Changes on the dining table
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2020-08/27/content_76643458.htm

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SOURCE China.org.cn