What The World Eats?
 

"What The World Eats?" Slideshow

I thought this was really interesting. The first thing that struck me was the disparity between Chad and the US.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1433/...190268a4_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1342/...f5d20d7e_o.jpg

But beyond that, it was also interesting to see what kinds of foods are consumed in other wealthy nations, like Japan, Italy, Germany, and Great Britain.

I'm going to have to look for this book the next time I'm at Barnes and Noble.

That was really interesting. The British family representation was horrible though. Favourite foods included a mayonnaise sandwich? That's absolutely foul. And most of that picture was chocolate and biscuits (cookies to you). That family eats total junk.

And the totals on food spent per week. Do people really spend that much? Like over $300 a week on food? for a family of 4? My mum used to be able to spend $250 on food for 6 people for 2 weeks.

well i learned a few things...
a. coca-cola is everywhere lol!
b. americans (and sorry Brits) have awful eating habits. nearly every other country had an abundance of breads, fresh meats, and veggies. all the US/UK food was prepackaged...:(
c. people spend either a whole lot or very little on food. $300+ a week on food? what the hell?
d. some other countries definately value family a bit more...there were 12 family members for the Egyptian family! looked like in-laws and everyone else up in there!

Middle-eastern and asian families do value generational unity a great deal.

Generally, the family will reside within the paternal household. New wives move into the homes of their husband's family. However, it isn't uncommon for new couples to get their own homes once they have the financial basis to do so. Really just depends on the family and how well they get along.

My father's house in his homeland has 3 generations living in it, soon to be 4! I grew up with family members consistently living with us. In fact, until I moved out, it was my mother, father, myself, my aunt, my uncle and their two daughters sharing a house together. While it was hectic at times, I loved every minute of it!

Just different cultures ;)

This is funny...
 

http://img.timeinc.net//time/cartoon...artoons_07.jpg

The US food supply is highly processed to feed the millions across the US. We also have imports of fruit and vegetables. We treat our food some kind of way either "frankenfoods" or "organically". And we can purchase anything we desire.

I do think we all have a problem with our desires for various unhealthy foods. And the chemicals cause us to gorge these foods. And it is not the entrees and sides. It may be the butter, oils and some spices. The extras...

I've grown up in the USA my whole life and there has never been that much processed food in my house ever...there isn't now. There is also no soda. I guess I must eat much healthier than the avg. American. That's a lot of money to spend on food...one family spends $500 a week? Yikes!

My food resembles the Italians the most, without all the soda. :)

Wow the German family spends over $500 a week? That's crazy...

What my family eats is a cross between the "USA" representation and the Mexican representation. We have all the breads, tortillas, fruits and veggies that the Mexican family had, with all the "unhealthy" food (pizza, soda, etc) that the US families had.

I spend about $200-300 a week on myself and to some degree my boyfriend. But I have to admit it's because of my diet requirements, I have Celiac Disease and the foods I can eat are definetly a lot more expensive. I have finally cut back on my grocery bills a bit by heading to the farmer's market this summer, I'll be really sad when the summer ends. I was really suprised by the overabundance of prepackaged, over processed foods in the US and UK households. I've always been surrounded by fresh fruits and vegetables.


And yeah I have to agree, Coca-Cola seems to be very popular worldwide.

all told, i prob spend 100 on food or so, including take out,etc....... but i'm by myself... my roommates and i eat each other's food from time to time too...

Looks like eating habits are a regional thing too. The California family's eating habits are healthier than the North Carolina family.

Not by much, it didn't look like to me. While overall the NC family's counter seemed to have more junk food and less fruit, there was good and bad in both.

I can't for the life of me, though, figure out how the NC family spent $342 on food a week. My family of 4 spends about $100-$125 on groceries a week.

I have a feeling the NC family orders in a lot.

Judging from the 2 pizzas, you may be right.

LOL, my kids would order pizza everynight if we let them. We tend to save that for "special occasions" or maybe when there's a babysitter.

There's also a plate of food that looks like a Boston Market plate. That would be over $20 for a family of four. Note too.. 12 pack of beer, several 12 packs of pop and LOTS of bags of chips. Probably over $100 just in that stuff.

The more pre-prepared stuff you buy the more expensive. When I shop, I look at all the pre-prepared stuff that would make life soooooo much easier, but then I figure out how much more it costs and, well, no way!

Did you notice how much beer and wine was shown there? Quite a bit, that adds up quickly.

Very true. And, probably the more unhealthy as well.

Ditto. Minus the soda, we try not to keep soda in the house.
My husband acts like he can't eat if there isn't tortillas...

And the Taco Bell, and the McDonalds, and the KFC. I don't know what all of the other food was doing there, considering they had enough fast food for at least 7 meals.

I would simply wither and die. Co-Cola is my one true addiction.

Truthfully, it's not missed when it's not there. Mariana is very visual, so when she's picking out what she wants to drink, she goes to the fridge and looks to see what's there. If there is soda there, she begs for that, and I have to try to divert her to something else...if it's not, she doesn't ask for it.

My husband will complain that there's no soda in the house, but then go fix himself Horchata or Koolaid. Even though he puts enough sugar in one cup to sweeten a gallon's worth, it's still healthier than soda (although, I guess, not by much:p ).

We treat the Coke almost like beer -- the kids know not even to bother asking most of the time. They know that their only options at meals are milk or water, with juice being an option at snack time.

They can have Coke (or ginger ale) if they're sick and very, very occasionally when we're eating out. Otherwise, they might get a sip of mine every now and then. (We don't do that with beer, just to be clear.)

You should have seen them at the mexican restaurant the other night, though. The 6-year-old asked the waiter how to say "Coke" in Spanish, then every time he walked past, she'd laugh and ask for "Una Coka!' "Dos Cokas!" "Tres Cokas!" I think she got up to seis. He was a very good sport about it, and played right along, telling her that he was bringing her "Sprite Natural" (aka agua) instead -- guess he knew that would lead to the good tip I left.

Coca. "K" is rarely used in the Spanish language, and is not indigenous.:D:D

Mariana is funny because agua is one of the few things (besides Mami and Papi) she ALWAYS uses the Spanish word for. And if she doesn't say agua, it's Sink Juice.

Thanks for the correction. And I love sink juice. :D

I can totally sympathize with your husband. Tortillas were everything to us...breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks!!!


to this day whenever i get a craving for something I heat up a few tortillas on the stove and then slather it with butter!! MMMMMM :D

I must have at least 2 tortillas per day to help keep the Dr away :).

I went from drinking a 12 pack of coke every couple of days to just one per night-that was very difficult. I now just keep them in the car and take one in at a time at work (working nights I need some caffeine). I rarely eat pizza-if I ordered one I would probably eat the whole thing so it is best not to even go there.

i am the same way. the sodas that we buy (we are huge Cherry Pepsi fans ourselves!) are for "big people". she is normally reduced to getting water, milk or a juice. one thing i did stop doing is buying the regular sodas. everything i get now is caffeine-free, or else we cant sleep at night!

I've always had a strict no soda rule until age 12 - I will never understand those parents who put soda IN A BABY BOTTLE. :mad::mad:
We're on a new diet for my husband's elevated triglycerides (sp?). LOADS of salads. We're turning into lettuce!

I remember reading some material from the health dept that was brought to my hospital room with baby #2. It said something like "Your baby does not need soda, tea, or koolaid."

Thing is, if they're stupid enough that you have to tell them that, they're stupid enough to think that "Does not need" = "They can have it if you WANT them too, they just don't have to have it".:rolleyes::rolleyes:

KFC in China is pretty fancy actually. It's like a sit down restaurant. Anyway, with the exception of the poor peasants who can only eat rice and a tiny piece of fish and stay skinny, the rest of China eats the most disgusting foods possible - most of it is processed as well. On top of that, there's a difference between eating processed foods and all of a sudden finding glycerine or lead in your chinese food. They have invented a whole new way of population control with their filthy foods.

-Rudey

i like steak...where do they eat steak?