What Is On Family Dinner Tables Around The Globe?

What do you eat in one week? What does a typical American eat? What does a typical Brit eat? What does a family in the Darfur Refugee Camp in Chad eat? What do the people of the world eat? These are the questions that photographer Peter Menzel seeks to answer through his coffee table book of pictures and information: What the World Eats.

In 2005 Menzel took a photographic survey of the diets of families around the world, documenting what they purchased and ate in the course of a week. The results are visually striking – Menzel has cleverly remade the classic family portrait as an intimate archive of consumption and metabolism – and they also reveal a remarkable range in the quantity, quality, and variety of foods that families across the world take as quotidian.

Japan: The Ukita family of Kodaira City

Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Favorite foods: sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily

Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Favorite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp

Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat

Kuwait: The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City

Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45 Family recipe: Chicken biryani with basmati rice

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina

Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken

Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca

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

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

Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
Family recipe: Pig’s knuckles with carrots, celery and parsnips

Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo

Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Family recipe: Okra and mutton

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo

Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage

United States: The Caven family of California

Food expenditure for one week: $159.18
Favorite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream

Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar

Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02
Family recipe: Mutton dumplings

Great Britain: The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis

Food expenditure for one week: 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15
Favorite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cake with cream

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village

Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide

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

Australia: The Browns of River View

Food expenditure for one week: 481.14 Australian dollars or US$376.45
Family Recipe: Marge Brown’s Quandong (an Australian peach) Pie, Yogurt

Guatemala: The Mendozas of Todos Santos

Food expenditure for one week: 573 Quetzales or $75.70
Family Recipe: Turkey Stew and Susana Perez Matias’s Sheep Soup

Luxembourg: The Kuttan-Kasses of Erpeldange

Food expenditure for one week: 347.64 Euros or $465.84
Favorite foods: Shrimp pizza, Chicken in wine sauce, Turkish kebabs

India: The Patkars of Ujjain

Food expenditure for one week: 1,636.25 rupees or $39.27
Family Recipe: Sangeeta Patkar’s Poha (Rice Flakes)

United States: The Fernandezes of Texas

Food expenditure for one week: $242.48
Favorite foods: Shrimp with Alfredo sauce, chicken mole, barbecue ribs, pizza

Mali: The Natomos of Kouakourou

Food expenditure for one week: 17,670 francs or $26.39
Family Recipe: Natomo Family Rice Dish

Canada: The Melansons of Iqaluit, Nunavut Territory

Food expenditure for one week: US$345
Favorite foods: narwhal, polar bear, extra cheese stuffed crust pizza, watermelon

France: The Le Moines of Montreuil

Food expenditure for one week: 315.17 euros or $419.95
Favorite foods: Delphine Le Moine’s Apricot Tarts, pasta carbonara, Thai food

Greenland: The Madsens of Cap Hope

Food expenditure for one week: 1,928.80 Danish krone or $277.12
Favorite foods: polar bear, narwhal skin, seal stew