China asks residents to control food habits, imposes new regulations as crisis deepens

As China continues to slip into a food crisis, President Jinping, on August 18, reportedly asked people to control their food habits and "maintain a sense of crisis about food security.” Food shortage, which first grappled China when coronavirus disrupted country’s food supply chain, has accelerated during the past months. In response, the government has rolled out a variety of campaigns and regulations including the ‘Food waste minimization’ campaign.

The country’s acute food shortage was made worst after the flood-hit the southern part of the country and left farms wrecked ruining tones of produce. Adding to that, a swine fever epidemic lead to the mass culling of pigs, cutting short on the supply of meat.

New Regulations

Following government’s dictates, the Wuhan Catering Industry Association urged restaurants in the city to limit the number of dishes served to diners. As per the new regulation, dubbed N-1, the diners could only order dishes one less than their own number. But, the system received slamming from across the nation with people pointing out that it was too rigid.

Meanwhile, the Hunan chain Chuiyan Fried Beef, in the city of Changsha, asked the customers to weigh themselves on a set of scales and provide personal information before entering the eatery. The restaurant then suggested menu items based on their physique. This move also attracted a lot of flak with many customers accusing the staff of ‘fat-shaming’ the restaurant.  

Apart from these moves, the communist government has also warned the social media apps against streaming videos which show people eating enormous amounts of food and video creators who promote over or excessive eating.

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Not only the food shortage had gripped the country but also heightening the obesity problem. In 2016, the country overtook the US to have the greatest number of obese people in the world. And as China's labour market has shrunk, one of many negative impacts of the now-abolished one-child policy, longer studying and working hours, as well as bad eating habits, have fuelled weight gains.

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