This is one of the most fascinating things to land in my inbox in a long time. It’s a photo project showing families in ten countries, ten different cultures, and their weekly food purchases. Some aspects are immediately jarring: the paltry amount of food for the poorest of the poor. Others take a moment to sink in, such as the near-total lack of fresh fruits and vegetables purchased by the American family when so many others bought an array.
Unfortunately, there was no known source to give credit for this, The photos are from a book called Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel with text by Faith D’Aluisio. I am grateful to my Washington pal — you know who you are — who forwarded it to me. I once read that the appeal of photographs of people is that we can stare without being rude. I’ve stared a lot at these photos and had to share them.
Mindful of load times, I inserted the photos as thumbnails; just click on them to see them full-sized.
Japan : A family of Kodaira City
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Italy: A family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Germany: A family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
United States: A family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
Mexico: A family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Poland: A family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
Egypt: A family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Ecuador: A family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
Bhutan: A family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Chad: A family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
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Have you read “What is the What?” by Dave Eggers? Its thousands of words to say what your pictures show in ten.
What a terrific post. The photos certainly give us ‘food for thought” but I sincerely doubt that most will turn away from eating the crap that passes as ‘food” these days … sigh
yep! great post indeed!
i once saw a similar photo story in a book, it was about consumerism. how much stuff people have in their household in different parts of the world. it was quite an eye-opener, like the photos of this post!
and um, about that “email a friend” feature under my blog posts – i have given a link in a comment under your comment! it’s a post i did explaining how to do that! please don’t go for the first suggestion in that post. go for the blinklist way! THAT’S how i do it! as u have found out already!:D
I am soooooo glad all of you like this; thank you. It simply blew me away.
@rhbee – I’m not familiar with that book. I’ll check it out.
@brightfeather – I know you share my revulsion for that famous non-dairy whipped topping. Wait a few weeks, hee.
@Netty Gritty – will check back at your blog for further instructions!
Thank you for the post. Awesome;-)
Thanks very much for this Ella.
Thought-provoking. I’ll try to eat a bit less today, I think.
Quite an eye-opener! Thanks!
roadsofstone.com/2007/09/20/164-kenya-2-the-dusk-behind-the-beach
[…] why some people can be happy with so much less to own and to eat, but why we Europeans and Americans should really have any kind of right to expect more […]
[…] lifestyle, and food to eat, and medical care, and clean water – why should it be us who have those things, and not those children whom I ran past beside the road in Kenya […]
Thanks, everyone. This post has been extremely popular and that’s gratifying indeed. I think sometimes we forget, in this multi-media world, how powerful a photograph can be.
I am simply stunned by this.
So am I, VegeYum. So am I. Still.
These photos and figures are from a book called _Hungry Planet_ with photography by Peter Menzel and written by Faith D’Aluisio. Link: http://www.menzelphoto.com/hungryplanet/
The book profiles 30 families from 24 countries and has interesting stories, recipes, and pictures of each family and statistics about each country. There is a forward by Marion Nestle and a few short essays by other food writers. It really is quite remarkable to see the variety in types and quantities of food. It’s a good book, I recommend it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Libby.
I’ve adjusted the text and emailed Peter Menzel seeking permission to keep this post up.
I can’t wait to get the book.