What the World Eats

Time put out a fascinating photo-essay called What the World Eats, which is from a book called Hungry Planet. In it, families are displayed with all the food they eat in a week. It also lists the amount the family spends on food for the week, as well as the family's favourite foods.

It's really fascinating to look at the differences between what families eat from different parts of the world, and especially the differences between people living in developing and developed countries. Contrast the highly processed diet of the family above from North Carolina to the family below, living in a refugee camp in Chad.

It's also really interesting to look at the apparent health and happiness of the families. Look at this family from Tingo, Peru. They subside on $30 a week, but the family looks incredibly happy, right?

As a classroom activity, having students spend time looking through the photos and noting their observations about the food and the people is really worthwhile. My students loved looking these photos! They spent a few class periods just looking and noticing. This is a great, visual way for students to see how different people around the world live and hopefully develop a bit of empathy for people living in other situations.