It is against the law in China to share a video of junk food

Many people wonder if the new law is ‘over-the-top’, invading personal privacy by interfering with their eating preferences.
Presenting or ordering more dishes than necessary is a long-standing custom in the country of billions of people, showing the wealth and hospitality of the homeowner, especially at business meetings and family gatherings.

However, this kind of hearty hospitality is being changed in the face of the Chinese government’s enacted anti-food waste law. VICE. Chinese people show their hospitality with hearty and diverse dishes. Photo: China Highlights. Specifically, restaurants are allowed to charge customers for leaving leftovers. Conversely, a restaurant that wastes food will be fined up to US $ 7,700. Suppliers of food that induce or deceive consumers to order too much will also be fined 1,550 USD. Television stations and online media companies can be fined up to $ 16,000 if they are found to be filmed or shown “drink-and-drink” videos. Many Chinese people question whether this new law is “overreaching” and violates individual liberties, namely eating – the most basic form of human enjoyment. Others find this law difficult to understand, not clear and could interfere with their eating experience. Mukbang videos have been removed on Chinese social media platforms. Photo: @fume_yamyam. Local governments in the land of billions of people have had many different measures to implement the law. For example, a dining association in Wuhan city has proposed a “N-1” rule, where groups of guests are allowed to order only the number of diners minus one. Some restaurants have committed to providing additional small meal options. A restaurant in downtown Trường Sa (Hunan Province) placed a scale in front of the door and suggested the amount of food based on the customer’s weight. In addition, censors have also removed mukbang videos on many Chinese social networking platforms. Earlier, on May 4, the regulator fined a warning level for a bakery in the east of Nanjing city (Jiangsu province) under the anti-food waste law. This bakery was found to be throwing away unattractive or leftover cakes for the day. The store owner then promises to give away the leftovers for free, or turn them into samples for customers to taste, according to the local newspaper. Yangtse Evening News. Diners who do not finish the ordered dishes will be charged according to the restaurant’s regulations. Photo: VCG. On April 29, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress officially passed the law against food waste, Global Times reporting. This will also put an end to the mukbang trend in the country of billions of people. Although China does not face food shortages, in August 2020, President Xi Jinping launched a campaign to save food. He said the economic disruption caused by Covid-19 was a national wake-up call that the country needed to secure food supplies. Additionally, supply chain disruptions during the pandemic have pushed tens of millions of people to the brink of starvation, according to the United Nations World Food Program. According to Chinese media reported, the country wastes about 35 million tons of food each year. According to Chen Shaofen, a sustainable development strategy researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a country with a billion population generates nearly one third of the world’s food waste, equivalent to about 135 million tons per year.