Tuesday 7 April 2009

What the world eats & spends on food

Did you know that Americans spend less than any other nation on food- 9.5% of their annual income. Interestingly, they spend the most on health care- 16% of their annual income.
Seems like the cheap processed foods are making us fat and unhealthy.

Below is a fascinating look at what people from around the world eat and what they spend on food weekly (taken from the book 'A Hungry Planet' by Peter Menzel). Unfortunately, the amounts spent (all included below in USD dollars) were not calculated as a % of the annual income... but still very interesting!


Germany:
$500.07 a week
Family's favourite foods: Fried potatoes with onions, bacon & herring, fried noodles with eggs & cheese, pizza.

















North Carolina, USA

$341.98 a week
Family's favourite foods: Spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken.

















Japan:

$317.25 a week
Family's favourite foods: Sashimi, fruit, potato chips.
















Italy:

$260.11 a week
Family's favourite foods: Fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks.
















Great Britain:

$253.15 a week
Family's favourite foods: Avocado, mayonnaise sandwiches, prawn cocktail, chocolate fudge cream with cream.
















Kuwait:

$221.45 a week
Family's favourite foods: Chicken biryani with basmati rice.
















Mexico:

$189.09 a week
Family's favourite foods: Pizza, crab, chicken.
















California, USA:

$159.18 a week
Family's favourite foods: Beef stew, clam chowder, ice cream.
















Beijing, China:

$155.06 a week
Family's favourite foods: Fried shredded pork with sweet & sour sauce.
















Poland:

$151.27 a week
Family's favourite foods: Pig's knuckles with carrots, celery & parsnips.
















Egypt:

$68.53 a week
Family's favourite foods: Okra and mutton.
















Ecuador:

$31.55 a week
Family's favourite foods: Potato soup with cabbage.
















Bhutan:

$5.03 a week
Family's favourite foods: Pork, mushrooms, cheese.
















Sudanese refugee camp in Chad:

$1.23 a week
Family's favourite foods: Soup with fresh sheep meat.

3 comments:

Sybil Hebert, RD said...

BTW, Canada spends $147.41 USD a week on food.

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Very interesting info-any info about India?

Sybil Hebert, RD said...

Thanks Sweta! No info was available on India online but I'm going to an exhibition in a few days on the "Hungry Planet" (funny coincidence!)- I'll let you know what I learn about India.