A restaurant in central China has apologized for asking diners to weigh themselves and then 'pick food accordingly,' in an invasive attempt at promoting a campaign against food waste.
The beef restaurant in the city of Changsha placed two large scales at its entrance this week. Customers stood on the scales, then proceeded to enter their measurements into an app that recommended food choices based on their weight and the dishes' caloric value — according to a report by the state-run China News Service. This practice was part of a nationwide campaign, started a week ago, when Chinese President Xi Jinping urged the nation to stop wasting food, as the coronavirus pandemic and severe flooding last month have led to a rise in food prices.
In response, regional catering groups have encouraged customers to order one dish fewer than the number of diners at a table, to combat the cultural habit of over-ordering food in group settings. Internet critics were quick to label this distasteful policy. The incident later went viral on Chinese social platform Weibo, with hashtags reaching 300 million views.
The restaurant later issued an apology, stating it is 'deeply sorry' for its interpretation of the anti-waste campaign — "Our original intentions were to advocate stopping waste and healthily ordering food. We never forced customers to weigh themselves", — it said in an apology posted online.
Written by Daniela Matos
Artwork by Izzy Johns
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