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06 June 2007

What the World Eats (I snagged this from Consumerist).

I thought it was neat.[More:]


My observations:
Seems you have to live someplace pretty remote to escape Keloggs cereals, Ritz crackers, Pepsi and Coke.

Damn, but that's a lot of Coke the Mexican family goes through in a week.

Europeans sure do enjoy candy.

I could so devour one of those amazing looking loaves of bread in the Sicily picture in about three seconds flat.

I don't eat like Americans, either, apparently.
These people need to invest in refrigerators!
posted by mullacc 06 June | 11:48
Oh, and here's the mefi thread in case you want to hear what people over there had to say.
posted by mullacc 06 June | 11:50
Holy crap Kelly! That was fantastic! I would love to dine with each of those families, except perhaps the Americans, any day. A really fun activity my friends and I do on weekends is to visit all the ethnic groceries in the suburbs and then prepare meals in their various idioms. Here, we can hit grocery stores representing Mexico, Japan, Korea, Russia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Sweden, Lebanon, and Iran in the course of a couple hours.
posted by pieisexactlythree 06 June | 11:50
Wow. That was great; I wish there were more! Wouldn't it be cool if we could do this for ourselves for a Photo Friday?
posted by taz 06 June | 12:11
here's the mefi thread in case you want to hear what people over there had to say.

If I had to guess: 100+ comments from people who claim to live on organic greens, rainwater, and the light of pure virtue.

on preview: taz, that WOULD be fun! Maybe on a smaller scale, like 1 day's worth instead of a week.
posted by BoringPostcards 06 June | 12:23
If I had to guess: 100+ comments from people who claim to live on organic greens, rainwater, and the light of pure virtue.

All that, plus race-baiting!
posted by mullacc 06 June | 12:28
BP, mullac, I am a fifth degree vegan; I don't eat anything that casts a shadow!
and I pocket-mulch!
posted by pieisexactlythree 06 June | 12:33
BP, we should try that... set it up a couple of weeks in advance, and try to shoot two or three days (or whatever) if we can.
posted by taz 06 June | 12:59
It would be a logistical challenge (for me, anyway) but I think it'd be cool to try.
posted by BoringPostcards 06 June | 13:30
I like how the Sobczynscy family included pet food :)
posted by auntbunny 06 June | 13:32
I like how the Germans included beer.
posted by mudpuppie 06 June | 14:16
Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23 ($0.25/person)
Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat

Portland, OR, USA: pieisexactlythree
Food expenditure for one week: $135
Favorite foods: Sushi, Chicken Curry, Strawberry Pocky

I spend about 550 times as much money on food as the family in Chad (per person)!
posted by pieisexactlythree 06 June | 14:20
That's really cool - thanks, I missed it on Mefi. The amount of plastic that the planet must get through on a daily basis is frankly horrifying. Ditto: Coke.
posted by TheDonF 06 June | 14:22
If I had to guess: 100+ comments from people who claim to live on organic greens, rainwater, and the light of pure virtue.


Pretty much... and everyone either:
1. shops at Whole Foods
2. feels contempt for those who would spend the kind of money it takes to shop at Whole Foods.
posted by kellydamnit 06 June | 14:30
Wow, this is utterly fascinating!

I was struck by the vast amount of packaged/processed foods, and yeah, the soda.

I totally want to take a picture of what I eat in a week. Let's do it!

I both shop at Whole Foods and am contemptuous of myself for spending the money. It's true.
posted by Specklet 06 June | 14:44
Yo, them German groceries are 'spensive.

I save money by eating my fingers. They grow back overnight.
posted by Hugh Janus 06 June | 15:04
How does everyone know what they are going to eat before they eat it? I have no idea what I'm going to eat from meal to meal.
posted by rainbaby 06 June | 15:39
That's one reason the logistics would be tough for me, too, rainbaby. (The other being that I eat about two-thirds of my meals at work.)
posted by BoringPostcards 06 June | 15:50
How does everyone know what they are going to eat before they eat it? I have no idea what I'm going to eat from meal to meal.

That's one reason the logistics would be tough for me, too, rainbaby. (The other being that I eat about two-thirds of my meals at work.)


Perhaps a photoshop collage would work if you can't get all the stuff together physically for a photoshoot.
posted by pieisexactlythree 06 June | 15:59
I just did some more math and found out that I outspent all of these people! I spent 3.4x as much as the Californians, and 1.08x as much as the Germans, who were the only ones who even came close!
posted by pieisexactlythree 06 June | 16:13
I like the amount of beer in the German table. That's my kind of people.
posted by qvantamon 06 June | 16:39
I ditto all of what Specklet said.
posted by small_ruminant 06 June | 16:40
Bah, Trader Joe's has more than 80% of what you can get a Whole Foods at less than 80% the price. But I don't feel like I can shop there unless I'm shaved and wearing a good shirt (unlike Albertsons or Costco).
posted by wendell 06 June | 16:49
If I took a picture of what I eat in a week, there'd be no unprepared food. Asides from cafeteria food, delivery food, restaurant food, and frozen food, I guess you can put a few slices of bread, ham, cheese, a few eggs, butter, and microwave popcorn.
posted by qvantamon 06 June | 16:51
for me: fried eggs. beef jerky. pizza. mangos. papayas. coconuts. croissants. roast chicken if I feel like cooking.
posted by small_ruminant 06 June | 17:36
We could all just take pictures of the contents of our refrigerators.
posted by brina 06 June | 17:55
brina, that would be depressing- it's always mouldy cheese, expired milk, and a month-old half an onion onion.
posted by small_ruminant 06 June | 18:00
that's an onion onion

just to make that clear
posted by small_ruminant 06 June | 18:07
I'm surprised nobody's speculated on what jonmc's picture would look like.
posted by gaspode 06 June | 18:20
well, he lives with Pips, right? And she can cook, I hear.
posted by small_ruminant 06 June | 18:29
Yeah, but he has disturbing degrees of gastronomic autonomy for most of the day.

/can't speak; ate pierogies smothered in sour cream last night.
posted by gaspode 06 June | 18:32
Maybe not all the food in one shot, but a photo of each meal/snack during a single day?

Confession time: the mister and I go through 8-10 bottles of generic diet Coke per week. It's mostly me drinking it. In my defence, I also drink a lot of water. And we recycle the bottles (and everything else that can be recycled).
posted by deborah 06 June | 21:19
Marc Maron on Late Night with Conan Obrien tonight || the Denver police blotter, for your entertainment

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