... for a nutrition-phile, I highly recommend What The World Eats (which I was actually gifted yesterday!).An adaptation of last September's Hungry Planet by award-winning photo journalist Peter Menzel and author Faith D'Aluisio, this made-to-be-displayed-on-the-coffeetable book captured what a week's worth of groceries looks like for 25 families in 21 countries.
Weekly food expenditures are broken down by category (i.e.: dairy, fruits/vegetables/nuts, snacks, etc.) and meticulously itemized.
The beautiful photographs are accompanied by illuminating narratives of each family's experience with food.
The Aboubakar family, for instance, is originally from Sudan, but resides in a refugee camp in neighboring Chad.
Their food is rationed and minimally diverse (their only two sources of grains consists of sourghum and a patented corn-soy blend).
The Dong family of Beijing, meanwhile, spends $155.06 US dollars on food each week; $27.95 are spent solely on beverages like Coca-Cola, instant coffee, grapefruit juice, and beer.
Peppered throughout the book are incredible statistics (annual consumption of soft drinks per person in France adds up to 23.8 quarts; in the United States, that figure clocks in at 54.8 GALLONS!) and a variety of informative charts and graphs.
This work of food for thought should satisfy many curious minds' hunger.
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