A truly amazing concept, a panoramic view of cultural diversity from a diet standpoint. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats dives into the dietary habits of a spectrum of families from different countries featuring pictures of each family behind 1 weeks worth of food. The artists behind this novel concept, photographer Peter Menzel and writer Faith D’Aluisio, visited some 30 families in 24 countries.
This post does not contain all of the families featured in the book but does show large portion. Some things worth noting include the horrific packaging of foods in developed nations. One quickly sees why the industrialized nations produce so much trash. Other visible facts includes the lack of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other produce in the US families. The reality being the cost and convenience of being able to store prepackaged foods for a long period of time while having foods that are quick to prepare.
I hope everyone examines these pictures and takes something from it.
Japan: The Ukita family of Kodaira City
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Favorite foods: sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips
Great Britain: The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis
Food expenditure for one week: 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15
Favorite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream
Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Favorite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks
United States: The Caven family of California
Food expenditure for one week: $159.18
Favorite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream
Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat
Kuwait: The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City
Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45 Family recipe: Chicken biryani with basmati rice
United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken
Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Favorite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken
China: The Dong family of Beijing
Food expenditure for one week: 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06
Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce
Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Family recipe: Okra and mutton
Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage
Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar
Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02
Family recipe: Mutton dumplings
Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork
Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
Favorite foods: fried potatoes with onions, bacon and herring, fried noodles with eggs and cheese, pizza, vanilla pudding
Guatemala: The Mendozas of Todos Santos
Food expenditure for one week: 573 Quetzales or $75.70
Family Recipe: Turkey Stew and Susana Perez Matias’s Sheep Soup
India: The Patkars of Ujjain
Food expenditure for one week: 1,636.25 rupees or $39.27
Family Recipe: Sangeeta Patkar’s Poha (Rice Flakes)
United States: The Fernandezes of Texas
Food expenditure for one week: $242.48
Favorite Foods: Shrimp with Alfredo sauce, chicken mole, barbecue ribs, pizza
I’m glad I came across your post: I didn’t realize this book was in the works, much less available. As you say, the lack of fresh fruit in “developed world” (ha!) diets is shocking particularly in comparison. If you haven’t already seen their other books, you should check them out. These same authors use the concept of photojournalism-around-the-world to document material possessions. The differences are shocking to say the least. The books are “Material World” and “Women in the Material World.” I have found they are excellent teaching tools, so I will probably add “Hungry Planet” to my library.
I will definitely have to check out their other books. Thanks so much for the visit.
Thanks 4 the extremely wonderful pictures and some facts about Hungry Planet.
thought in germany they’d show that everyone here eats nothing but sausages and drinks only beer lol great idea though, puts a lot of ideas into perspective and the book would tackle political, socio economic, and cultural issues all in one. amazing, powerful collection of images
check out http://www.germany.com too for more articles and images
shocked: MALAYSIA MAKE NEW RULES FOR CHRISTIANS!!
EVERY CHRISTIANS MUST SAY “ALLAH” RATHER THAN “GOD” & DONT SAY “TRINITY” ANYMORE..
This is because English language not suitable anymore because the original Bible is in Arabic.
The full story is here: ckasih.blogspot.com
Thanks for posting so many examples from the book- I’ve been meaning to take a look at it and it looks fascinating. I’d like to point out the direct link between all of the packaged, processed, well traveled food on the western tables, and our dependence on oil…. so much of our food comes from thousands of miles away just to get to the shelves of our grocery stores, and then we drive there to get our food. It’s insanity. For a few years, I’ve been making an effort to wean our family off the industrialized food chain as much as possible, and onto whole, local foods. But local food systems here in the U.S. have greatly deteriorated over the last 50 years or so. It is difficult to do, but I think eating more locally is a solution for the future, just like getting out of our cars.
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Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation
Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Meandering.