Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

A few months back I heard a fascinating bit on NPR’s All Things Considered about a coffee table book that was recently published called, “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats,” by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio. I had been meaning to find it in the bookstore, but like most things in life the intention was lost. Then, earlier this week I stumbled upon the book sitting on a table in my sister’s living room and immediately immersed myself in its contents.

The premise of the book is fairly straightforward: Identify 30 average families from 24 countries around the globe and photograph the family with a week’s worth of food. The results, however, were astounding. For instance, the family in Bhutan eats meals made up entirely of fruits, vegetables, and rice, which by the looks of it barely appears to be enough for its 7 adults and 7 kids. In contrast, the family of four in the United States has a diet almost completely made from processed and packaged foods.

Each family is profiled with illustrations, a back story, as well as a catalog of food items and how much it costs to feed the family for a week. To give you just a sense of the stark contrast, the Bhutan family spends just $5 per week, whereas the family in the U.S. spends about $350 per week. In Chad, though, the situation is quite dire. A family of six (3 adults and 3 children) eat a diet of beans and rice with a small portion of veggies and fruits, spending a mere $1.25 per week.

This coffee table book is truly a fascinating look at what the world eats, and really demonstrates the difficulty for developing nations to provide a balanced diet for its people. Based on my own travels abroad, and my experience having difficulty striking the same healthy balance of eating abroad as I do at home, I found the book to be a very accurate portrayal of how average families can still struggle to eat nutritious meals.

San Francisco: After the Ruins

The Travel Bookshelf of the Houston Chronicle is
featuring a new book, After
the Ruins, 1906 and 2006:  Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
.  It’s a pretty neat
premise:  photographer Jack Klett returned to the settings of 48 historical photographs, and reshot the sites as
they appear now.  Accompanied by essays written by Philip L. Fradkin and Rebecca Solnit, the work "likely
will captivate anyone who has visited San Francisco."

Another bonus:  the book is also supported
by a  photography exhibit, featuring the both the works of Klett and the historical photographs, at he Fine Arts
Museums of San Francisco’s Legion of Honor, at 34th Avenue and Clement Street in Lincoln Park.  The exhibition
continues through June 4; call 1 (415) 863-3330 for more information.