World Hunger

There is an amazing series of photos by Peter Menzel for the book Hungry Planet that shows families from different places around the world, with all the food they use in a week. There is an amazing range of food amounts from place to place, from the most spent in Germany to the least in Chad. The first two sets below are pictures of such families, the third set is a series of photos of food stores, or the lengths people go to get food.

What The World Eats:
Part I
Part II
Part III

It's truly amazing, the range portrayed, and really makes a point.

But, one is forced to ask, is it a real point? Yes, there are people on different income levels, but this is true of any one country, let alone across the world. The families here, are they the "average family" with the "average eating" pattern? Are they the extremes? Moreover, are they the extremes that drive home the point?

It is said that "a picture is worth a thousand words". Context, however, makes the difference between an essay and a random mishmash of a dictionary. While the photos are interesting, one should check the frame before reading too much into them. (Certainly, the series does work for making me want to read the book, which is probably the best message it can give. Whether or not one should believe the book... is another topic.)

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