Xi Jinping's "Don't Waste Food" Directive Hits China's Mukbang Industry

Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed not to waste food, leading to the ban of some internet mukbang broadcasts. The photo shows a video released by 'Cihuozhanglei,' a well-known mukbang broadcaster on the Chinese video sharing platform Kuaishou. Photo by YouTube capture.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed not to waste food, leading to the ban of some mukbangs in China.

On the 13th, China's Pengpai newspaper reported that after the state-run China Central (CC) TV aired a program criticizing food-wasting mukbangs, some video-sharing platforms banned binge-eating mukbang broadcasts.

Some famous BJs (Broadcast Jockeys) deleted their past mukbang videos.

Also, on popular Chinese video-sharing platforms like Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and Kuaishou (快手), searching for "mukbang" or "Dawei Wang (大胃王·big eater)" displays phrases such as "civilized mukbang, save food, no food waste, reasonable dining culture."

Earlier, Chinese state media reported on the 11th that President Xi recently said, "The phenomenon of food waste is heartbreaking," and instructed, "Food waste must be resolutely prevented." President Xi added, "China's food production is abundant every year, but the awareness of food security risks remains, and with this year's COVID-19 situation, we must remain vigilant."

In response, some regions in China have started the "N-1 Campaign" to save food. This campaign encourages restaurants to advise customers to order one portion less than the number of people to prevent food waste.

China's state broadcaster CCTV criticized the social phenomenon of food waste and directly mentioned some mukbang programs themed on binge eating.

As food-saving campaigns continue in China, mukbang broadcasts are expected to suffer significant setbacks. The Kuaishou account "Chihuo Zhang Lei (吃貨張磊)," which was targeted by CCTV for binge eating content, is reported to have been deleted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.