User:Harris233/clean plate campaign in china

On 13 January 2013, a public charity organization in Beijing launched an anti-food-waste campaign which they later refer to as the “Clean Plate” campaign. Initially distributing posters and flyers in restaurants and gas stations, the campaigners quickly drew the attention of state medias, who covered the event on social media, making the campaign widely recognized and followed across China in ten days. Many sees the event as an example of the spread of public opinions and campaigns on social media in China, contemporary with the rise of internet media and smartphones. Some views the official endorsement of the campaign as not only targeting food waste in China, but also in-line with President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign which urged cadres and government officials to stop lavish lifestyles.

Food Waste in China
The 2018 WWF report on food waste in Chinese cities shows that a total of 17-18 million ton food is wasted annually in Chinese cities. Per citizen per meal wastes 93 grams of food in the cities surveyed (Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Lhasa), in which vegetable and staple food constitute the majority of the waste. Higher food waste is associated with a variety of factors: tourists, larger restaurants, dinner (vs. supper), friend-gathering and business-purposed meal. The study also finds the food waste in primary and secondary schools to be above average, in which boxed meals have the largest amount of waste vs. buffet.

Initiation and Early Spread
On 13 January 2013, “IN_33”, a public charity organization in Beijing, discussed the initiation of  a anti-food-waste campaign, in which they named it “Clean Plate”. They made thousands of posters and flyers, and spread up to distribute them across Beijing city. They distributed them to restaurant waiters, who would then send the materials to the customers. They also conveyed the messages via Weibo, a famous Chinese social media site.

The initial response to the campaign was reportedly minimal. Xu Zhijun, one of the campaign initiator, has been making posts on Weibo against food waste for a long time, who initially felt the campaign would die out like other similar campaigns on Weibo. However, Xi Jinping, China’s new president at the time, made a comment on a local coverage of the “Clean Plate” campaign, which quickly drew the attention of state medias.

Official Media Endorsement
On 22 January, People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, endorsed the “Clean Plate” campaign on Weibo, calling for food conservation and use of doggy bags at restaurants. With tens of thousands of Chinese netizens retweeting, other official medias such as CCTV, Xinhua and Guangming started to cover the story as well. Weibo users share pictures of their clean plates and tips of saving food

Xi Jinping’s Call for Stopping Food Waste
On 11 August 2020, Xi calls again for a stop on food waste, bringing back the “Clean Plate” campaign across the country. Some restaurants limited the number of dishes that customers can order, while some offered half-dish options (China launches 'Clean Plate' campaign against food waste. Xi’s call could be associated with the wave of global food shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may put China’s food security at steak, who largely relies on food import.