Latest News:  

English>>China Society

Festival banquets challenge to food waste campaign

By Cheng Yingqi (China Daily)

13:41, February 16, 2013

Spring Festival is a time when families gather to enjoy reunion dinners, but it also poses a challenge to the recent campaign against food waste.

The campaign - which is sweeping across China with government leaders and Internet users asking people to cut down on extravagant banquets - echoes a call by China's top political leader, Xi Jinping, for a frugal lifestyle.

In late January, nearly 750 Beijing restaurants responded by offering smaller dishes.

However, some consumers said that they felt almost "forced" to waste food during holiday dinners.

"In a restaurant near my home, dinner usually costs less than 70 yuan ($11.22) per person. But if you make a reservation for a separate room so that you and your family members can enjoy a more private dinner, the restaurant requires a minimum 100 yuan fee per person, which means that we have to order more food than we need," said 62-year-old Beijing resident Shen Yin.

"This certainly causes waste, but we have no choice because nearly every restaurant has similar rules," she said.

Earlier this month, the China Consumers' Association asked restaurants to abolish the minimum-fee policy during the holiday period. The move was not entirely successful.

China Daily randomly called five popular restaurants in Beijing and found that while some heeded the call, others still require a minimum fee for separate rooms.

On Feb 7, a story in the People's Daily singled out the minimum-fee policy as a major reason for food waste.

According to the report, most high-end restaurants set a minimum fee for consumers who want to eat in separate rooms. The fee varies from several hundred yuan to more than 10,000 yuan.

The minimum-fee policy - an unwritten rule in the catering industry - causes waste, and not only during Spring Festival.

Chen Li, 26, a Beijing resident, said that she is astonished by the amount of food wasted due to the minimum-fee policy, even outside the Chinese New Year holiday.

Last summer, Chen and her classmates went to a restaurant for a farewell dinner. They were charged a 3,000-yuan minimum fee for a 10-people room, while the average cost for a meal at the restaurant was only about 100 yuan per person.

"That meant we had to order three times more food than we needed," Chen said.

However, Chen said that she also understands the restaurant's position.

"When people eat in a separate room, they usually take longer because they chat after eating. The restaurant owners could have received a few batches of clients during that time and made more money, so they charge us for those losses," she said.

Beijing resident Xu Siyuan, 26, said that if people really want to reduce food waste, they should cook at home instead of eating in restaurants.

"We all think about face-saving issues in restaurants," Xu said. "Some people order more food than needed, or don't want to take the leftovers home. If we cook at home, this won't be a problem."

We Recommend:

'Wedding' for two old men in Beijing

$16,000 splash to be washed emperor-style

So sleepy on way home in Spring Festival travel rush

Sweetest moment of 'mother-to-be'

Parents keep son alive with DIY ventilator

China's weekly story (2013.01.27-01.31)

Chinese New Year in country fair

A Taiwan student’s adventure in Beijing

Wedding planner: dealing with 'happiness' and 'love'

Email|Print|Comments(Editor:ChenLidan、Yao Chun)

Leave your comment0 comments

  1. Name

  

Selections for you


  1. Chinese ships patrol Diaoyu Islands

  2. 40th Canadian Int'l Auto Show kicks off

  3. Carnival ends in Venezuala

  4. Macao embraces peak tourist season

  5. Meteorite burns up over Russia's Urals

  6. Post-holiday travel peak around China

  7. Get ready for ten-day stage of Hainan Opera

  8. Swans on wetland of Yellow River in Pinglu County

  9. Macao embraces peak tourist season

  10. Job hunting fairs held across China

Most Popular

Opinions

  1. Human rights progress as a matter of fact
  2. Millions on the move
  3. US to withdraw from Middle East?
  4. Ensure fairness during festival travel rush
  5. Is the wolf really gone?
  6. K-pop on Spring Festival gala stirs controversy
  7. Some media don't get the message: no bootlicking
  8. US playing strategic arms game
  9. Aiming at fairer realty market
  10. Dark business environment breeds dark deeds

What’s happening in China

The new generation of 'best paid' jobs

  1. Enterprise in Tianjin catches fire
  2. Various job fairs are held among cities
  3. Fireworks sales down in Beijing during holiday
  4. Fires kill 36 people during China's Spring Festival
  5. New cold front to freeze China