What the World Eats- Peter Menzel

We all know that Americans are known as fat gluttons who only eat microwaved, prepackaged, brightly colored artificial blobs that resemble food only because of brainless marketing and food dyes, but what about the rest of the world? What does a family of ten in the poorest regions of Kenya have to sustain themselves versus a middle class family of three in Western Europe? How much depends of cost and availability of fresh produce straight from the earth? What regions depend on what food staples, and how much directs these cultures towards physical fitness, mental health, and more- which in turn tilts the balance of world superpowers?

While these questions might not be fully answered, they are at least explored in the book Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel. In his photo essay in Time Magazine, we are faced with 16 families from across the world in their homes and a week's worth of groceries plus their cost. It's a quick but staggering look at the variety of cultures, what is available, what we take for granted, and how food is directly related to issues such as immigration, poverty, the shaping of communities, and more.

See the photos here, and check out the book here and here. I have every confidence this will open the eyes of millions to the unfathomable concept that there are hundreds of thousands or more people without dairy available to them, much less a cheeseburger. The global diet is a vast network dependent on so many factors, and yet we as Americans take grocery stores, convenience stores, and fast food for granted. I for one am incredibly thankful that I live in a place where I have more than one grocery store I could walk to, and even if times are tight there is no danger of me starving to death. It's an amazing, staggering concept to explore the weekly diet or struggle to simply survive in harsh regions of the world, and yet it's a daily reality for so many. Be sure to check out the photo essay and book for what is sure to be eye-opening and jaw-dropping.