Thursday, March 06, 2008

Suddenly, I'm not so hungry....

I just received this in an email yesterday from my friend Carlo. Very interesting comparison of what people eat per week around the world. Note the more affluent the country, the more crap they consume. Take a good look at the family size & diet of each country, along with the availability & cost of what is eaten each week. And where are the fresh fruits & veggies in that junk food wasteland in the picture of the American family? That's great to know that the parents are hoping the kids drop dead by the age of 35. As much as that is so not a part of most of our eating mindsets, you also have to know that for the majority of Americans that is their regular diet. Informative, scary, appalling? Yes, yes, and yes.
Oh, and when you get to the last picture, do me a favor and join me in counting our blessings.
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Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
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Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
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United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week $341.98
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Mexico : The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
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Poland : The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week : 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
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Egypt : The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
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Ecuador : The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
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Bhutan : The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
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Chad : The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

6 comments:

darryl at cork said...

wow, bb - this is some extremely stunning photography, let alone commentary on the appetite of the world. why the f*@K are Americans eating so much processed crap? italy looks like you would expect, but i wouldn't mind hanging out in the kitchen in Mexico, Egypt or Ecuador just to see what they do with the raw materials. and now i've got to go make a charitable contribution to some hunger organization helping families in Chad. ciao, dj

bb said...

Right on commentary dj. We should all give what we can, because we've got so much. And how great would it be to see what they do with that produce? All the more reason to buy fresh, no?

Anonymous said...

hrmm...looks like an exhibit I saw at Copia in Napa last year -- I'm guessing Carlo was involved in this since I see no credit for Copia?

bb said...

anonymous-

hrmm (is that a word?). I'm guessing Carlo's...and my...involvement goes as far as receiving this email and hoping to spread the word about inequities around the world. If Copia feels slighted, they should rethink their priorities and be thankful that the word is getting out, because isn't that the point?

Norm Schoen said...

This makes me sad to see how much processed food is eaten by this American family. I am guessing that their diet is not that unusual for the general population.
At least we have choices in this country and I do feel fortunate that we have an abundance of great local product in Oregon.

bb said...

Norm-

I know. We have it so good here. It is somewhat depressing to know that so may actually do eat that poorly in our country. Apathy is apparently very fattening.