Should We Switch To Individual Portions When Dining Together?

In most Chinese families, dining together is a tradition, that is, everyone sits together and shares the dishes on the table, with no individual servings. It has a long history in China. Friends and family members gather together to share food, which can promote communication and enhance intimacy.

Since the SARS epidemic in 2003, people have paid more attention to public health, and there has been growing calls for eating from individual plates instead of communal dining. However, the habit of picking up food from a shared plate has been formed since thousands of years ago, which is difficult to change overnight. Although the COVID-19 outbreak has been contained to some extent in China, and the resumption of work and production is progressing in an orderly way, it has brought health concerns to center stage. Therefore, whether to follow the practice of individual portions has once again become a topic of debate in the society.

Proponents believe that eating from individual plates is more hygienic and the practice of sharing dishes brings many health risks. The traditional practices of sitting close to each other and sharing dishes can easily cause cross-infection and spread of digestive tract diseases. Opponents say that communal dining is our tradition, and it is helpful in cultivating our feelings for each other and inheriting good family values.

PROS

CAO SIYI

Committee member of the Shaanxi Province Health Manager Association Shaanxi Province

From a scientific point of view, communal dining can easily lead to transmission of certain infectious diseases, such as influenza. Other diners on the table can be easily infected if someone is infected with such a disease. For example, tuberculosis is mainly transmitted through the respiratory tract, that is, cough, sputum, and droplets are its main transmission routes.