Restaurants are also encouraged to develop online ordering services.
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More than CNY200 billion worth of food, enough to feed nearly 200 million people for a year, is wasted inÂ
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China annually, research by China Agricultural University has found.
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After polling 2,700 diners in Chinese cities, the university concluded that at least 8 million metric tons ofÂ
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protein and 3 million tons of edible fat is thrown away each year.
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Chen Junhai, marketing director for Wangshunge Delicacy, a Beijing restaurant chain, said: "I haveÂ
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worked in the catering industry for more than 20 years, and I have seen too much waste.
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"People attending large banquets, such as wedding receptions, are more likely to waste food. We need toÂ
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break this indecent habit."
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Restaurant owners said they have been striving to reduce food waste and raise public awareness.
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Liang Di, general manager of Beijing Meizhou Hotel Management, said: "We have a tradition that serversÂ
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suggest to customers that they not order more food than they really need.
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"Actually, more diners will wrap up leftovers nowadays, and our restaurants use 10 million boxes a year."
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Since the media focused on food waste and launched publicity campaigns, restaurants have seen a sharpÂ
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decline in extravagant banquets and food waste.
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The number of banquets held by government departments in Tianjin in the past month dropped nearly 30Â
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percent compared with the same period last year, according to Xing Ji, head of the Tianjin Catering TradeÂ
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Association.
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Xing said the average cost of official banquets has also fallen by 50 percent.
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In Haikou, a tourist city and capital of the southern island province of Hainan, restaurants said they areÂ
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seeing huge losses from the cancellation of government banquets.
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"Normally, official banquets account for 80 percent of our revenue at the end of each year, but the waveÂ
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of cancellations has cast a big shadow on our business," an unnamed manager of a luxury restaurant inÂ
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Haikou was quoted by People's Daily as saying.
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Officials who misuse taxpayers' money on extravagant banquets now face a bigger risk of being exposedÂ
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and punished.
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Wang Qun, director of the finance bureau for Qiongzhong, a poverty-stricken county in Hainan, wasÂ
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suspended from his post and placed under investigation after allegations of misusing public funds inÂ
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restaurants, a disciplinary watchdog said.
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Investigators said Wang spent CNY15,000 on three banquets for friends and colleagues in the past month.
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"We have found other government departments in Hainan are also involved in the misuse of taxpayers'Â
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money on feasts and we will find who should be held accountable and punish them," said Luo Zhijun,Â
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deputy director of the provincial Party disciplinary inspection commission.Â