The “Clean Dishes Campaign” comes after Xi said Covid-19 had “sounded the alarm” about food waste.
He added that China had to “maintain a sense of crisis about food security”.
It also occurs after weeks of flooding in southern China, which destroyed farms and ruined tons of products.
China’s state news firm Global Times sought to downplay what it called the “media hype” that China is heading toward a food crisis, aggravated by the epidemic.
State television also criticized live broadcasters for filming themselves eating large amounts of food.
Following Xi’s message, the Wuhan Restaurant Industry Association suggested to the city’s restaurants restrict the number of dishes served to diners, implementing a formula in which teams will have to order a dish less than the number of diners.
Therefore, under this formula called “N-1”, an organization of 10 other people can order only nine dishes.
But chances are the formula will take time to adapt, in a country where it is well-educated to ask for more than the required amount.
In an organizational environment, empty plates are perceived as a sign of a bad host, meaning that an inadequate amount of food has been ordered for guests.
The concept “N-1” has been the subject of online criticism, and some point out it is “too rigid”.
“What if a user goes to the dining room alone? How many dishes can you order? Zero?” asked for a user on the Weibo microblogging.
Others said the maximum number of diners in restaurants did not waste much food, but rather referred to extravagant banquets organized through officials.
China’s state-run CCTV firm also asked live broadcasters to film themselves eating large amounts of food.
Commonly known as “Mukbang”, such broadcasts are popular in many parts of Asia, in addition to China.
According to CCTV, some of these stations throw up afterwards because they are unable to digest the huge amounts of food they consume.
This is not the first time China has introduced a crusade against food waste. In 2013, the “Operation Empty Plate” crusade was introduced, aimed at extravagant parties and receptions organized through public officials, rather than imposing obligations on the public.
According to WWF China, between 17 and 18 million tonnes of food were wasted in China in 2015.
Kerry Allen, Chinese media analyst
President Xi describes the “clean waste campaign” as a gesture to help the foreign network in the pandemic, but in reality, China has had an ambition for years to reduce waste generated through its 1.4 billion citizens.
The amount of food wastes China is enough to feed 30 to 50 million people each year. Aggressive tactics have been needed to reshape the way other people think about their drinking habits.
In July 2019, the city of Shanghai, the world’s largest and most populous city, introduced strict regulations that require Americans and businesses to recycle their food waste well. Citizens have been fined for meeting or punishing their social credit score, a questionable formula that affects the economic and social outlook.
Since then, Shanghai’s style has spread to cities.
China also faces a developing obesity problem. In 2016, the country outperformed the United States by the largest number of other obese people in the world. And as the Chinese labor market has done, one of the many negative effects of the only child policy now abolished, more hours of examination and work, as well as poor eating habits, have driven weight gain.