Caterers, diners urged to stop wasting food, promote thrift

Staffers with a barbecue restaurant in Futian District study a proposal on stopping wasting food yesterday. Photos from Shenzhen Evening News

Shenzhen Cuisine Association is calling for efforts to stop wasting food and promote thrift among the public, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported Thursday.

The association made the proposal after President Xi Jinping underscored the need for greater awareness of the risks posed to China’s food security and called for efforts to curb food waste.

Though China has reaped bumper grain harvests for years, awareness of the possibility of a food security crisis is still necessary. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic this year has sounded the alarm, Xi noted.

In its proposal, the association encouraged all restaurants to innovate their methods of service and promote measures designed to reduce food waste, such as providing serving cutlery, in addition to individual chopsticks and spoons to avoid cross infections.

It also suggested that restaurants should guide customers to order food rationally, and provide small-sized dishes, half-portion dishes and to-go boxes for diners to take their leftovers home, according to the association.

Shenzhen now is home to more than 130,000 eateries, with an annual turnover of nearly 90 billion yuan (US$13 billion) and nearly 1.5 million employees.

Since 2018, Shenzhen has designated Nov. 8 of every year as “Clear Your Plate Day,” which aims to encourage the public to avoid wasting food and reduce kitchen waste.

Statistics show that the per capita amount of food left uneaten per meal came to 93 grams in China in 2018, a waste rate of 11.7 percent, according to the State newspaper People’s Daily.

Information also shows that Chinese consumers wasted roughly 17 to 18 million tons of food each year from 2013 to 2015, enough to feed 30 to 50 million individuals annually, said the newspaper.

It’s not the first time China has launched an anti-food waste campaign. In 2013, the “Operation Empty Plate” campaign was launched.