What the world eats: a family by family comparison

My uncle sent me this link to a Time magazine photo essay, “What the World Eats.” In a series of 16 photographs, they show families from around the world of varying sizes, what that family consumes in a typical week, and how much they spend.

The essay was timely because Melanie and I were reviewing our financial budget and discussing how much we spend on groceries and whether we might be able to cut back. Frankly what we spend sounded high and we’re going to see if we can cut it back some.

On the other hand, apart from the families in the Third World nations, we’re spending less per person than almost every family in the developed nations. The German family spends about $2,000 per month for food for two adults and two teens!

Check out the American families (two are included): I suppose they’re fairly representative, but see how much of their food is pre-packaged and how little fruits and vegetables they eat. I just wish Time had included a list of the food because I would have found it fascinating.

Anyway, maybe Melanie and I aren’t doing so bad after all since we buy few pre-packaged foods; we eat more fruits, veggies and grains than meat; and we make as much as we can from scratch. Still, I’m sure we could cut back even more if we need to. We’ll see.