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China launches 'Clean Plate' food waste campaign

Food Waste - Level 0

China wants to cut food waste with its new "Clean Plate Campaign". President Xi called the waste "shocking and distressing". There are reports of a food crisis in China. Food production has fallen because of coronavirus and floods. President Xi said people must think carefully about food security and not leave food on their plate.

Restaurants are taking the campaign seriously. One restaurant started weighing customers. It apologised because diners were angry. A Beijing restaurant said: "We remind our guests when they order too much food." Other restaurants say groups of diners must order one fewer dish than the number of people in their group.

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Food Waste - Level 1

China wants to reduce food waste. Its new "Clean Plate Campaign" will get people to think about food waste. President Xi Jinping called the waste "shocking and distressing". There are reports of a food crisis in China. Food production has fallen because of the coronavirus, and floods in southern China. The government wants people to reduce how much food they leave on their plate. President Xi said China had to think carefully about food security.

Restaurants are taking the campaign seriously. One restaurant started weighing customers. It had to apologise to angry diners. It said it wanted diners to order food "in a healthy way". A Beijing restaurant said: "We remind our guests when they order too much food." Restaurants in Wuhan have started a system whereby a group of diners must order one fewer dish than the number of people in their group. The UN has warned of a global food crisis.

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Food Waste - Level 2

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China is acting to cut down on food waste. It has started a campaign to get people to think about the amount of food they waste. It is called the "Clean Plate Campaign". President Xi Jinping wants people to reduce how much food they waste. He called the waste "shocking and distressing". There are reports in China that a food crisis is coming. Food production has decreased because of the coronavirus, and floods in southern China. The government wants people to reduce the amount of food they leave on their plate. President Xi said China had to think carefully about food security.

Many restaurants are taking the campaign seriously. One restaurant went a little too far as it started weighing customers. It had to apologise to angry diners. It said it wanted to stop food waste and for diners to order food "in a healthy way". A restaurant in Beijing said: "We remind our guests when they order too much food." Restaurants in Wuhan have started a system called N-1. A group of diners must order one fewer dish than the number of people in their group. The United Nations warned that the world could see its worst food crisis in 50 years this year.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Food Waste - Level 3

China is taking action to cut down on food waste. The government has started a new campaign to encourage people to think about the amount of food they waste. It is called the "Clean Plate Campaign". President Xi Jinping wants people to reduce the amount of food wasted. He called the waste "shocking and distressing". There are many reports in China that a food crisis is coming. Food production has decreased because of the coronavirus and because of floods in southern China. Experts say this will not lead to a crisis, but the government wants people to pay more attention to how much food they leave on their plate. President Xi said China had to "maintain a sense of crisis about food security".

Many restaurants are taking the campaign very seriously. A restaurant in central China went a little too far as it started weighing customers. It had to apologise to diners who were offended at being weighed. It said: "We originally wanted customers to stop food waste and order food in a healthy way." A restaurant in the capital Beijing told the Global Times newspaper: "We remind our guests when they order too much food." Restaurants in Wuhan have started the N-1 system. This is where groups of diners must order one fewer dish than the number of people in the group. Earlier this year, the United Nations warned that the world could see its worst food crisis in 50 years.

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