cillakat Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 In response to another thread: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 VERY interesting. I was so drawn to the photos filled with fresh produce and whole foods. The processed food was so obvious on the American tables. The (German? Scandinavian?) family cracked me up...it was SO organized, straight and orderly...and pretty processed, too: pickled herring, etc... and they weren't smiling :) Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 I'm amazed at amount of soda that Americans drink. I'm also saddened at how little some of the poorer contry had to eat. I think I'd get sick of rice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Do you get sick of bread? Seriously, a staple is a staple. You have a hundred ways of dressing it up. For me, the most moving one was the African family--per person there was only a tiny fraction of what anyone else, even those from poor Asian countries, had. I also noticed that for the amount and quality of food displayed, the Egyptians seemed to pay the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Does the picture show what that family eats in one week? Some of those families eat A LOT! There was more processed food in most of those pictures that what I would have thought from some of those countries. Did you see all the bottles of soda with the family from Mexico? yikes! The lack of fresh fruits and vegetables was very obvious in the families from America. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 I have this book and I love it! It is fascinating to see what and how the rest of the world eats. I found it amazing that all but two (maybe three) families profiled in the book bought soda every week. I think I would really like to eat with one of the Japanese or Chinese families. Their vegetables look so interesting to me. One grandmother from the Japanese family was astonished to learn that most Americans do not grow any of their own food. She kept giving the photographer tips to give to us on how to grow cantaloupes or other "easy" foods. Very cool. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Did you see all the bottles of soda with the family from Mexico? yikes! The lack of fresh fruits and vegetables was very obvious in the families from America. :iagree: I had no idea that anyone drank that much soda in a week! And some of the families had bottles and bottles of juice. Did you see that the family in German spends $500 for a week's worth of food??? The other thing I noticed is that the family from Great Britain had a whole lot of candy out on the table. One of the U.S. (I think?) families had a single bowl of broccoli as their entire veggie allotment for the week. :001_huh: The African family's weekly portion really moved me, especially because their entire grocery bill for a week is only a little over $1. Just a few dollars a month could probably really add a lot to that family's diet. :( Well, after looking at these pictures I'm feeling like what we eat in a week isn't so bad after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 One of the U.S. (I think?) families had a single bowl of broccoli as their entire veggie allotment for the week. :001_huh: OK, wait. I think part of the perception is in how the photos are staged and how certain veggies in the US are packaged. I can see broccoli, 2 bags of baby carrots, regular carrots (placed in a mug), frozen peas, potatoes and it looks like there are other packages of frozen veggies behind the frozen peas. There is also a lot of fruit but it is in the back. If all of the fruit and veggies were grouped together, it might look like more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 OK, wait. I think part of the perception is in how the photos are staged and how certain veggies in the US are packaged. I can see broccoli, 2 bags of baby carrots, regular carrots (placed in a mug), frozen peas, potatoes and it looks like there are other packages of frozen veggies behind the frozen peas. There is also a lot of fruit but it is in the back. If all of the fruit and veggies were grouped together, it might look like more. Oh, you're right! Okay, come to think of it, the more I analyze it, the more this family's diet looks like the typical California diet. I know a lot of families that serve this exact menu in a week. Still not as many fresh fruits and veggies as some of the other countries, but not as bad as I originally thought. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 Totally random thoughts. I wish that they would break it down and categorize it so I could analyze it a bit more. LOL I don't know what many of the items were on the tables but I recognized soda and Corn Flakes on a couple of the tables. The families from Egypt and Kuwait had numerous adults for the amount of food there! Especially, if you compare it to the family from Mexico that just had a small family. The other thing that I notices was the family from Japan had a lot of flat packages. There was a lot of processed foods but the packages were smaller than we see in the US. The US table from NC really didn't have a lot of food on it, if you consider how much of it was just packaging. Too funny that they included the pet food! I Love the smiles on the faces from Equador. :D One thing that really, really stands out to me is the amount of packaging I see. Wow, No wonder we have landfill issues! Some of the families have food all over the place, on book shelves, and various other places. I wish they would have presented it all in a more consistent manner to have a better visual comparison of what is there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 (edited) The US table from NC really didn't have a lot of food on it, if you consider how much of it was just packaging. And in addition to the packaging, there was take out pizza, Mc Donald's, Taco Bell, Burger King, and I think KFC. And I didn't make it through all the families yet, but they were the only ones so far who had beer and cheap wine on the counter. :lol: ETA I finished, and I'm surprised by the amt of alcohol the German family had on the table. Not that I don't include a couple bottles of wine/beer in my weekly shopping trip, just not that much for just dh and I. Maybe they were having a dinner party that week... Edited March 20, 2010 by LauraGB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 A breakdown of the foods: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5005952 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 A breakdown of the foods: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5005952 Thanks for this! I think I am going to order the book. Another book I just heard of is Material World - it follows a similar format to the What The World Eats book, photographing families around the world outside of their homes with all of their material possessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Oh, Material World is one of my very fav books EVER. Thanks for the link, OP--fascinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Ecuador & Bhutan look the best to me. It's interesting to see, the more "advanced" the country (first world vs. third) the farther away from real food one becomes. Ah, dehydrated flaked potatoes anyone? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 I love Barbara's dehydrated potatoes flakes. ;) They are not bad at all, and it's only potatoes. People have dried fruit and salted meat for stroage purposes for hundreds (thousands?) of years, why not dry other foods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 wow!! Very interesting! I would like to do that for my family to see what we eat! I think seeing it all out like that really makes you think. We have cut out all sodas except for eating out and parties....and I try and cook all our food from scratch! (Thank God I have that blessed time to do this!) I had a sleep over last night for my 9yo. You never believe her little friend told me...I cooked french toast for them. She told me she never had french toast from scratch. She didnt know you could make it like that! She though it was only from the freezer. I felt sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 I love Barbara's dehydrated potatoes flakes. ;) They are not bad at all, and it's only potatoes. People have dried fruit and salted meat for stroage purposes for hundreds (thousands?) of years, why not dry other foods? Yes, but how much more are you paying or losing for the convenience? Is it as nutritious as fresh locally grown potatoes? I don't see salted meats & dried fruit in the same vein as potato flakes in a box, even Barbara's brand. Well, maybe if you lived in the Arctic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 I think I would really like to eat with one of the Japanese or Chinese families. Their vegetables look so interesting to me. I went to a Japanese grocery store a year or so ago and they too had their veges all prepackaged on styrofoam -- it made me smile (and groan). Yes, but how much more are you paying or losing for the convenience? Is it as nutritious as fresh locally grown potatoes? And isn't it fascinating that peeling, cutting, boiling and mashing a potato is considered a lot of (or too much) work by some people and easy for others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Sometimes Barbara's mashed hits the spot. :auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Why don't we eat mutton in the US? I've never seen it at any market I've been to. Or maybe I've never looked for it. Then again, I was pleased when one day out of the blue I had veal and lamb available. So maybe I would have noticed. Hmmmm.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 The African family's weekly portion really moved me, especially because their entire grocery bill for a week is only a little over $1. Just a few dollars a month could probably really add a lot to that family's diet. :( I haven't looked through the photos yet, but my sister lives in Kenya and she and her boyfriend can eat quite happily on AU$15/ week. Mutton is tougher than lamb, so people who have a choice prefer to eat lamb. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 I would buy mutton over lamb. I am squeamish about eating baby animals. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knit247 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 (edited) The (German? Scandinavian?) family cracked me up...it was SO organized, straight and orderly... I had to LOL at the German family's table, too. So organized. I love it though - it is one of my favorite things about living here! ETA ...I'm surprised by the amt of alcohol the German family had on the table. I've noticed that, too, living here. I think the Germans have a totally different attitude concerning alcohol, however. A glass of wine, or a beer or two is the "norm" here. It's not a drink that is reserved for "special occasions" only. You can buy beer or wine most anywhere (I have even heard McDonald's offers beer). Germans are very big on personal responsibility and I believe - although I don't know for sure - that they can get into serious, serious trouble fro driving drunk, etc. They just don't seem to do it. Edited March 23, 2010 by Laurie in Germany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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