Americans observed their Thanksgivings Day last week and millions of families celebrated with feasts galore. A while ago I received an email from a friend, I expected the usual porn, but instead I got a message that I found to be enlightening.
The email showed photos of various families from around the world and the amount of food that they consume weekly. The email includes the US dollar amount of their weekly food expenditures.
We take for granted some of the excesses that we enjoy, especially those of us who live in the US and Canada. Heck, I get quality catered food at work as part of the deal. How much better could that be?
I spend more money on drinks and greasy take-outs in one weekend than some of these families spend in one week for sustenance. It helps to quantify the value of the items we consume and it gives us a better idea of how well off we really are, even for those whom we consider to live below the poverty line.
Germany : The Melander family of Bargteheide
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 375.39 Euros or $500.07
Favorite foods : fried potatoes with onions, bacon and herring, fried noodles with eggs and cheese, pizza, vanilla pudding
United States : The Revis family of North Carolina
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : $341.98
Favorite foods : spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken
Japan : The Ukita family of Kodaira City
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Favorite foods : sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips
Italy : The Manzo family of Sicily
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Favorite foods : fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks
Great Britain : The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15
Favorite foods : avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream.
Kuwait : The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 63.63 dinar or $221.45
Family recipe : Chicken biryani with basmati rice
Mexico : The Casales family of Cuernavaca
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Favorite foods : pizza, crab, pasta, chicken
China : The Dong family of Beijing
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06
Favorite foods : fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce
Poland : The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
Family recipe : Pig’s knuckles with carrots, celery and parsnips
United States : The Caven family of California
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : $159.18
Favorite foods : beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream
Egypt : The Ahmed family of Cairo
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Family recipe : Okra and mutton
Mongolia : The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02
Family recipe : Mutton dumplings
Ecuador : The Ayme family of Tingo
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : $31.55
Family ripe : Potato soup with cabbage
Bhutan : The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Family recipe : Mushroom, cheese and pork
Chad : The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
© Peter Menzel http://www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
Food expenditure for one week : 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Favorite foods : soup with fresh sheep meat
Posted on November 30th, 2007 by Leo
Filed under: Lucid Thoughts
That’s crazy, the difference in spending from one family to the next is pretty drastic!
I spend an average of $350 per month on food/household items , which includes both cooking at home and fast food/restaurant eating.
I’ve come close to spending $350 on restaurant spending in a week… and, no, not fast food.
It looks like economics also has a bit to do with what you spend vs. what you get to eat. I do not think I could match what some of those families near the bottom of the post have for the price they pay.
Also, I can see how giving to charities that help families like that one in Chad can really help them. An additional $10 a month would double what they have.
I have a lot to be thankful for.
Wow…great post. That Mexican family looks like they eat really healthy with all those fresh fruits and vegetables.
Yeah, but look at all the big bottles of Coca-Cola in the back!
rofl.
Rice and Beans is all you need!
[...] or free college diplomas! In fact, it contained all these pictures of families and what they spend on food in a week. It’s a really cool post and I highly recommend you head over and check it out. Otherwise, [...]
Great post Leo. Notice some of the biggest smiles are from those that have the least.
I think it’s because they have so very little that they focus on what they do have: family and health. That’s enough to make me smile too!
damn, I hate how people keep stealing the pictures this books are from, and putting incorrect, and minimal information from the book (picking and choosing what text they wanna show)
lame.
Uh, okay. Then instead of just sitting there criticizing about the misinformation, how about you enlighten us with the proper source? Remember, I just got this in an email. Or do you just enjoy going around posting your negative thoughts for everyone? Lame.
I have also seen these pictures before, and it was from a TIME photo essay…after a quick Google search here is the source: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519_1373664,00.html
The pictures are from a book called Hungry Planet
http://www.menzelphoto.com/hungryplanet/
…see, that wasn’t very hard, was it?
Thanks for the source info, Gary
Surprise surprise “Axiom” is as good as anonymous with his comments.
I really like this post.
I noticed that the families that supposedly had less were eating only healthy whole foods like fresh (probably organic) veggies, whole grains and water, so actually they have more in the long run. They will out live the haves by a long shot. We all need to eat like the so called have nots.
I am going to check out the source for more info…thanks for writting this post.
And Axion don’t be an ass.
I cant beleive that they could eat off of that. I have two kids and spend at least 500 a month juston food. I try to buy organic stuff and eat healthy but the healthy stuff actually costs more. It seems like everyone is concerned about overweight kids. If this is true they should lower the cost of healthy foods and raise the price of junk food. LOL
I was touched by these email. Knowing that even people can smile on days when they don’t have anything to eat. Anyways, we can grow veggies in our yard just to lessen the expenses. Pics and infos are nice Leo. Opening our eyes to situations like these may help our world a little eh?
I’m not too surprised if you notice in the more affluent the more processed foods make their way into the weekly menu. I live in the USA. I rarely spend over $40 weekly, but I do eat a lot of fresh produce. My bill goes up slightly higher in the wintertime maybe to about $60? Simply, because I have to buy a lot of my produce from the store. In the warmer months, I don’t have the problem since I have my own garden.
Is it any wonder why westernized cultures are unhealthier than underdeveloped countries? Take a look at the food many of us choose to consume. What we put into our bodies will usually affect the way we feel.
Excellent post.
Wow! Excellent post. It really makes you stop and think about how much money we waste everyday.
This is a great series of photos. Thanks for posting.
Gdog – Thanks for the source reference.