Take a walk about the coral tree lane to explore the stunning diversity of foods, diets, and occupations that sustain life in today’s world.
The images grouped according to the number of calories contained in meals. The calories listed are not meant as precise representations of average daily intake, instead, they are brief cross-sections. They range from a starvation-level 800 to a high of 8400 calories. Most of the people interviewed say they have more than enough to eat, sometimes much more. Only a few do not. The Maasai herdswoman (800 calories) stands for the billion or so people in the world who go hungry every day, and the many more who barely get by.
For the rest of us, the variety of choice is astounding. The stories in these images show the transition from traditional foods to processed foods. What people eat is a reflection of a rapid and far-reaching process of economic and cultural globalisation. The diets in these images also reflect the effects of changing dietary patterns on human and environment wellbeing. Together, these images have a wealth of stories to tell about the human condition in the twenty-first century, while providing a stark reminder of the need to address the growing dysfunction within our food systems.
About the artists:
Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio Peter Menzel is a freelance photojournalist known for his coverage of international feature stories on science and the environment. Faith D’Aluisio is a former award-winning television news producer. The couple lives in the United States in Napa, California. Menzel and D’Aluisio’s book, What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets (Material World Books, 2010), is a photographic journey across 30 different countries that shows what 80 people eat in a typical day. Through Menzel and D’Aluisio’s evocative narrative style these images shine a beam of light into the pantries of ordinary individuals, revealing a lot about their culture, economy and way of life.
About the project
This exhibit is part of the Food(R)evolution project, a travelling exhibition with the aim to deepen dialog around the future of food systems, particularly in Africa, using photography and film. Food(R)evolution is organized by the Sustainability Institute and African Climate Change Adaptation Initiative.