- A chain restaurant in China apologized to customers for recommending food, CNN reported.
- The popular Hunan chain Chuiyan Fried Beef asked customers to step on a scale to weigh themselves so that a manual could recommend dishes based on their weight.
- In efforts to build food security and reduce food waste, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that it encourages “a social environment where waste is shameful and muscle fatigue is applauded,” state media reported.
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A restaurant chain in China has publicly apologized for daring customers to give their menu recommendations before entering the restaurant, CNN reported.
Chulyan Fried Beef, a popular chain based in Hunan, asked customers to step on scales so they could weigh themselves before entering the restaurant. Based on its weight, the restaurant recommended a menu with various items.
For example, women weighing about 88 pounds were recommended to be a signature meat dish and a fish head, while men weighing over 175 pounds were suggested pork flex sucker, according to CNN.
The restaurant’s practices created a rapid backlog of customers for fat-shaming, CNN reported. The restaurant chain apologized in a statement Saturday, saying its campaign was designed to “help spoil food,” and that it would continue to let customers weigh themselves, according to CNN.
China has made food security a national priority, setting goals for agricultural development that strengthen its capacity for food production, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Chinese President Xi Jinping has placed strong emphasis on efforts to reduce food waste. He said he was striving for a “social environment where waste is shameful and muscle fatigue is applauded,” according to state-run media. He emphasizes that food waste is ‘shocking and distressing.’
