Chinese influencer tries eating pig feed for 60 cents a day in cost-cutting challenge, drawing criticism

An influencer with more than 2.78 million fans found herself in hot water recently after streaming a video of herself eating pig feed.

Yes, that's feed intended for pigs.

According to Shanghai News, the woman, Kong Yufeng — known as King Kong Liu Ke on mainland social media — made the video as part of a self-imposed challenge to survive on minimal expenses.

The influencer posted the clip on Oct 30, in which she declared that she wanted to live on as little money as possible, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP). However, she did not provide her reasons for doing so.

She decided to take up the top-ranked suggestion for saving money from Zhihu, a popular Chinese forum, which would reportedly cost just three yuan (56 cents) a day.

In a snippet of the video found on Chinese platform Bilibili, Yufeng is seen opening a large bag of pig feed, which she said cost 100 yuan and would last her a month.

She went on to describe the ingredients in the pig fodder, stating that it included soy beans, peanuts, sesame seeds, corn and wheat bran.

The netizen who'd made the suggestion had also claimed that pig feed is high in carbohydrates, protein and vitamins, and is an "all-natural" food.

"I'm not exaggerating, pigs have a healthier diet than humans," the commenter had stated.

Taking a whiff of its contents, Yufeng appeared to be surprised that it didn't smell bad, describing how it reminded her of cereal.

After mixing 100 grammes of the feed with water and taking a spoonful of it, however, Yufeng changed her tune.

"It's so salty!" Yufeng exclaimed in disgust, before adding: "It's a bit sour too!"

But still, that didn't deter her. She diluted the rest of the pig feed with even more water and finished it, stating her intention to continue with the pig feed "diet" for a week to observe any changes to her body.

Animal feed not fit for human consumption, experts warn

Last Friday (Nov 1), a reporter from Shanghai News contacted the factory that produced the pig feed Yufeng consumed.

A company employee confirmed that their products have passed food safety regulations and are not harmful to humans. However, the staff member noted differences between animal feed and food meant for human consumption, stating that the ingredients are unrefined and may not be easily absorbed by the human body.

A food safety expert interviewed by Shanghai News stated that pig feed often contains discarded produce not typically consumed by humans.

Discouraging the practice, the expert warned that long-term consumption of pig feed could also lead to deficiencies in minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc and iodine.

While Yufeng had urged others not to follow her example "unless you're really poor", Shanghai News noted that the video lacked any warnings about potential health risks.

A lawyer whom the publication spoke to stated that while there are no laws prohibiting the consumption of animal feed, her actions could be seen as violating guidelines for online content.

Such behaviour may be considered distasteful or contrary to social morals, and thus subject to restriction or prohibition, said the lawyer.

But if she wanted attention, she sure got it.

Yufeng's stunt quickly went viral, drawing 6.3 million views on Weibo, according to SCMP.

Her actions have also prompted an outpouring of criticism from netizens.

"Has the world gone crazy?" decried one commenter, while others criticised her for going overboard.

According to Shanghai News, the video was still up on the platform as of Nov 1 despite reports raised against the creator.

On Wednesday, SCMP stated that Yufeng's video has since been removed from mainland social media platforms and her account no longer searchable.

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candicecai@asiaone.com