edit: since first publishing this post I have been informed that these pictures were not just random photos in an email, rather these are the work of Peter Menzel Photography for a piece published in Time Magazine. There has been quite a stir from what I understand because many many people have been stealing these pictures from different websites and selling them as their own work.
My uncle sent out this email (probably a forward?) and I thought it was super interesting. In each picture you get to see the weekly food intake for an average family of the country they represent.
Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week $341.98
© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Pretty interesting?
40 Comments
Chad Cheverier
11 Dec 2007 08:12 pm
thats really interesting!
TJ Cameron
11 Dec 2007 10:12 pm
wow.
Elizabeth
12 Dec 2007 05:12 pm
One thing that really strikes me is how much soda people are drinking.
The other thing that strikes me is how much dead (processed) food we Americans eat. The pic of the North Carolina family has tomatoes & grapes – that’s the only “real” food they’re eating for the week. Kinda sad, I think. AND how much fast food they’ve got: Taco Bell, Burger King, McD’s, KFC, and pizza! Hello!
Anyways… very insightful!
Becky
13 Dec 2007 06:12 pm
That is amazing. Not many fresh fruits and veggies for the US family. I was also stuck by all the soda consummation. (Don’t get me started on soda and decay!) We take for granted all the variety we have, and the ability to have fresh produce year round!! Thanks Tim!
Anna Costa
14 Dec 2007 01:12 pm
That is SO interesting!! Thanks for sharing. Mike and I had a blast with you last night!! Let’s hang out soon for sure!!
xo
Lucinda Mudd
17 Dec 2007 09:12 am
really puts our needs into perspective!
mike larson
17 Dec 2007 11:12 am
crazy!
sandig
19 Dec 2007 09:12 am
This post brings to mind one of my fav. books… Material World by Peter Menzel… it sits on my desk so that I never forget. It was published in 1994 by Sierra Club Books. It is a beautiful and thought provoking work. You should check it out… I think you would both really like it.
Happy Holidays!
Sandi
Tim Halberg
19 Dec 2007 12:12 pm
I just found out that these pictures were originally published in a story from National Geographic.
Awesome, I’ll have to check that book out! Thanks for the suggestion!
Bob
09 Jan 2008 04:01 pm
awesome
Janelle
17 Jan 2008 09:01 pm
Thanks for posting this. It’s actually embarrassing to look at the US family’s food. Everything processed and pre-packaged and pre-cooked and just awful. I saw this several weeks ago when you first posted it, and it’s been in my mind ever since. It literally changed my life in the way I shop, cook, eat, and think about food.
admin
18 Jan 2008 12:01 pm
Hey Janelle,
Awesome, I’m stoked that it made a difference for you! I really need to have it help me more…
Nicole
14 Feb 2008 09:02 am
These are truely amazing pictures! They really bring an alarming perspective to food consumption in our nation. It’s embarassing to see that US families actually feel fast food is a staple in their weekly consumption. This nation has become so damn lazy; it’s disgusting. And we wonder why our nation is overweight and plagued with diseases like obesity and diabetes. I hope one day our nation wises up, or there won’t be a generation to carry on in our footsteps.
Vicky
22 Feb 2008 02:02 pm
I belong to the Diversity Committee on our college campus. Is it permissable to print one or two of these pictures to put on our display board or committee website to call attention to the diversity in food, culture, and standard of living in different parts of the world? I think these pictures speak volumes.
admin
22 Feb 2008 02:02 pm
Hey Vicky.
Sadly, these aren’t my pictures. I would have LOVED to photographed this assignment.
I believe these pictures were originally in the National Geographic from what I’ve been told.
Hope that helps.
Blessings,
Tim
admin
20 Mar 2008 04:03 pm
Turns out these photos about food consumption around the world were photographed for Time Magazine.
I’m glad these pictures are getting some attention through this blog post, but I hope that all credit is rightfully given to http://menzelphoto.com/
Stephen
29 May 2008 02:05 am
Its truly amazing pictures, its clearly suggest that the normal Indians are much less consuming than much of its equivalents.
Mr. George Bush- The So Called President of America is Crying That The Rise in Price of Food is Because of Indians. Coz, They are Consuming More and More Food Day By Day…
He should check this.
The Union Finance Minister of Indian Union, Mr. P Chidambaram, has said that the average Indian food consumption is one-fifth of average American food consumption. and also added that President Bush’ comment is an ‘ill-informed statement.’
[...] also marvelling at what people around the world eat. Italians – lots of bread. Germans – lots of beer. Americans – an awful lot of things in [...]
Mohamed Adan
07 Aug 2008 03:08 pm
Why are we all focusing criticisms on the American family? I know America is everyones favorite punching bag, but that North Carolina family has a reletivly healthy and normal diet. I saw meat, veggies, bread, and soda. Look at the Mexican family! They have by far the unhealthiest diet.
If you want to have your belly full, that will mean ignoring the suffering of folks like that family in Chad. This planet just cannot feed six billion people, some will have to starve, or eat a lot less.
sarah ryan
02 Oct 2008 12:10 pm
this is crazy interesting you should get some more photos
Suga78
10 Oct 2008 11:10 pm
Its interesting to see how diet is affected by geographical location.
Melinda
15 Dec 2008 09:12 am
It’s crazy how much we Americans take in…… look at some of the other families around the world and how much they have. It just doesn’t add up! Most of us choose to take the “easy” way. Taco Bell and all other fast food, junk food, SODA! But the people in other countries have fruit and other things we SHOULD be eating! Too much waste! It’s just CRAZY!!!
raz4125
08 Jan 2009 02:01 pm
These pictures tell me one thing; there is enough food in this world for everyone’s need. No one should be starving!
Usaine Bolt
12 Mar 2009 09:03 pm
wow thats epic fully didnt see that coming…..the chad..ians have nothing i didnt know that
the americans eat way too much bad food and germans have heaps of wine.
Luke
31 Mar 2009 11:03 am
Great photos, absolutely fascinating. Its amazing to see the rich diversity of meals and their costs. Egypt is really putting the US to shame with that great produce and bread for a huge family at just over $60. It makes me want to move out of the country.
Gandalf the Green
20 Nov 2009 01:11 am
These highly biased photos are not in the least representative of reality. They suggest the World can be fed, but each of these countries has a growing percentage of poor, up to 10% or more. Almost all the families are overweight, but the least overweight are the healthiest, and would live longest if they could get medical care. Of 9 pictures one at least should be absolutely starving, one billion in a world population fast approaching 7 billion. Where is the water that each family drinks, only the Chad family appears to value it? The dollar values show that although one family can feed itself well on $5 the family spending $500 doesn’t 100 times more ‘value’ . But as water runs out, it will be pollution that spoils the party.
Dina
14 Dec 2009 10:12 am
excellent comparission…. one thing that still hurts for me is that most of the comments by u.s citizens shows that they are worried “how less fresh food they consume”… but they forget to see the main picture “how less food” other countries consume when compared to you… still the same ignorance… all u need to care is just for u…. selfish as always!!!
Jennie Kimmel
15 Dec 2009 05:12 pm
Hello,
Yes, you are correct these photographs are copyrighted by Peter Menzel and are from the book “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats” by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio. Thank you for your acknowledgment.
It’s great to see people benefiting from these images but we would like to be properly credited. The credit that should be posted on the blog under the image is:
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Jennie Kimmel
Assistant
jki@menzelphoto.com
Menzel Photography
http://www.menzelphoto.com
http://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Planet-What-World-Eats/dp/1580086810
Heather Kingham
14 Jan 2010 08:01 pm
Very interesting! Thanks for sending this information.
[...] but thought-provoking look at weekly food consumption around the world is provided in a series of photographs here. Note the high per person food consumption of the American family (just 4 people) relative to the [...]
NyNy
23 Feb 2010 10:02 am
Oh I loved looking at these pics. Lets all just remember though that in the US eating fresh is not cheap. I live in Bangkok right now and the food is cheap, for me but costs more for the folks who get paid Thai Baht. Also I’d like to say that I am pretty healthy. How HEALTHY is it really folk REALLY to live off of a few bags of oats. Skinny doesn’t equal healthy, those folks looked malnourished. North Carolina isn’t the richest state in the nation…but hey her boys look pretty active. As she no one in her family has a big blouted belly…cant say the same for the folks with all that beer on the table….guess no one saw any of that. I love spending money on good food when I go ou and when I eat in. I know where its from (i eat pretty natural and organic at home) and it tastes great. I will not feel bad about having a slice of cheesecake with my glass of wine to celebrate the end of another hard week at the job-o. Again thank you for sharing the pictures were great!
[...] but thought-provoking look at weekly food consumption around the world is provided in a series of photographs here. Note the high per person food consumption of the American family (just 4 people) relative to the [...]
not sure
22 Mar 2010 01:03 am
USA: So many pizzas and chips, supprised they are not fat
Germany: more soft drinks, beer and juice than food
Chad: not enough food i feel sorry for them
Ecuador: curious, what are they living in
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