Thursday, January 18, 2007

Give us this day, our daily bread...

I've mentioned my love for the Walrus before. And no, I am not talking about Paul or anything with tusks. My appreciation for this great Canadian magazine increased when last month's issue included a number of images and information from a book called Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. A wife and husband team (they're always husband and wife) visited 30 families around the world and photographed and listed all of the items each family consumed over the course of a week. Included were some calculations of the value of each of those food items. The value, quantity and quality differences are astounding. Find more information from the photographer/husband's website or from this article from U.S National Public Radio (which includes a few of the images). To see every food item consumed by each family every week is eye-opening in and of itself but the comparisions that can be made are shocking. If the old adage "you are what you eat" holds true, then I have fears for all of us.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

WOW... such a revealing book.

Often, while doing my Sunday morning shopping, I wonder about the food I eat and reflect on just how fortunate we all are, living here in the 'west'.

It's truly humbling to see the image of the African family.