There’s something weirdly curious about peering into the diets of other people. As if finding out some deep, intimate secret, it seems as though we are physiologically predisposed to participating in a kind of dietary voyeurism.
The interest, actually, is everywhere. Like the rock star opening up her fridge on an episode of Cribs. Or Michael Phelps’ daily 5-digit diet making international headlines. Or Obama’s feeding habits which adorned the news during his campaign . . . like seriously, EVERY night. Even just some random “food diary” blog entry – I know you’ve looked. I seriously doubt the same level of interest would have come from documenting, say, what type of toothpaste any of these people use.
Time Magazine’s “What The World Eats” caters to this curiosity. The photojournalistic selection is from the book “Hungry Planet”: a study of families from around the world, revealing what people eat during the course of one week. Each page is a fascinating portrait of a family posing next to their entire weekly food consumption sprawled out before them. Also included is their country of origin, weekly monetary expenditure, and a favorite meal or family recipe.
Sneaking a look at another family’s diet AND peering into another culture’s habits? I’m so in. There’s the Italian family: almost cliché with the piles of breads and pasta; or the African family whose simple bags of rice make an American grocery store seem like a different planet. And then there’s the family from North Carolina who’s processed pile of crap will, if you’re like me, embarrass you as an American whether your diet resembles theirs or not.
Don’t be afraid: I’m keeping my high horse tied up for this one. But I can’t help but be aware of the morbid contrast. We live in a country with a subsidized food system, an average budget far greater than most places in the world, and have the ability to get just about any type of food (at any season of the year, and from any part of the world) that we could possibly want. At the same time, the average American table is so littered with bright logos, crinkly bags, and waxy packaging that it barely looks like food at all.
It’s fun to look at what other people are eating, but I believe this honest series of photos serves as a perfect opportunity reflect upon our own choices. Many of us are trying to live and eat more consciously, more naturally, more locally, and more green. In the eyes of a camera, what would your diet look like?
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I always find it interesting to peer into others’ shopping carts at the grocery store. I think, “I’ll bet she has Twinkies in there.” And generally, I’m right. When I was in college I was a grocery checker and it amazed me at crap people put in their bodies. I was the last of 13 kids and we didn’t have money for junk food. We ate things like parsnips, beets, string beans, and celery with peanut butter … so I grew up liking healthy foods. I just can’t figure out how people with children can knowingly feed their children over processed, over chemically treated food. It amazes me.
So true! It can become a good guessing game, though an unfortunate one more often than not.