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Book
offers fascinating peeks into world's kitchens
February 02, 2006
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Imagine
feeding a family of nine on $18 per week.
The Mustapha family of Dar Es Salaam in the African nation
of Chad does just that, eating a diet consisting mainly of
millet, chicken, goat meat, watermelons, squash, dates and
peanuts.
They carry their drinking water from a well a half-mile away.
They also grow more than half of the food they eat, a safeguard
against hunger since there is no government safety net in
Chad.
Halfway around the world, the Revis family of Raleigh spends
$342 per week feeding a family of four. Fast food, meats and
soft drinks, bottled juices and other beverages account for
more than half of the family’s food costs.
The Mustaphas and the Revises are among the families featured
in the fascinating book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats
by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio (Material World
Books and Ten Speed Press, 2005).
The book is a masterpiece. In it, the Mustaphas and the Revises
– and 28 other families in 24 countries scattered all
over the globe – are each photographed in their homes
amidst a typical week’s worth of their groceries.
From Poland and Australia to Ecuador and Mongolia, differences
in culture and cash are apparent by the foods people eat.
The photos tell many tales. Among them: Families in more affluent
countries have diets dominated by processed foods –
often laden with fat and added sugar. In poorer countries,
families eat food closer to nature, often because they grow
it, or catch it, themselves.
I asked the Revises what their reactions were when they saw
the book.
“I was embarrassed,” said Rosemary Revis. “I
looked at some of the other families who had to work so hard
to prepare their food.” One photo shows a woman in Greenland
cleaning a seal her son and husband had brought home to eat.
“If I had to do that I probably wouldn’t eat as
much,” said Revis. “It was an eye-opener.”
“It is what it is,” said Ronald Revis. “It’s
routine, and that’s the hardest thing to change,”
he said, adding that the family switched from ground beef
to ground turkey a long time ago. But bigger changes are harder
to make, he said.
The family – including two sons, Brandon and Tyrone
– go to the gym regularly to help stay fit. “You
have to do something to fight the battle of the bulge,”
said Ronald Revis.
What surprised Rosemary Revis most about what she saw in the
book?
“The price,” she said, referring to her food bill.
“Ours was the second- or third-highest grocery bill.”
As a result, the Revises are cutting back on eating out, especially
fast food. They’re cutting back on packaged foods, too.
Revis said she was also struck by how little some families
ate, especially some of the African families. “A lot
of families also ate more fresh vegetables and fruits than
we did,” she said.
Sometimes learning more about others is the best way to learn
more about ourselves. Touring the world’s kitchens through
the pages of Hungry Planet does just that.
An update on PFOA. I’ve written twice
(here and here)
about the need for the government to do more to understand
how the chemical PFOA, used to make nonstick coatings and
grease-resistant paper products, is getting into our bloodstreams
and that agencies need to do more to protect people from potential
harm. Late last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
announced a plan to encourage manufacturers to eliminate the
use of PFOA. This is a step in the right direction. But the
program is voluntary. The government and our elected representatives
need to closely monitor the program and consider mandatory
measures if voluntary measures aren’t successful.
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