Seeing #1 and 2

I would describe Peter Menzel's portraits of ordinary people's food throughout the world as an insightful look into the cultures and typical lives of various groups of people from different cultural backgrounds.  The details that stand out the most to me are the different kinds of food, both the kinds of foods themselves and the way they are packaged. The different foods like fish or grain showed what kind of food dominated their local diet, and the packaging showed the difference in wealth between the groups. It also helped to show where the family was from by displaying the local languages. In the photograph of the Ukita family of Japan, I can infer that both fruit and fish are a main staple in their diet. The story that the photo suggests to me is that they are part of or live near a fishing community, and that some of the fish had been recently caught and sold locally. My understanding of the photographs are enhanced by the summary by Faith D'Aluisio by showing exactly what was being displayed along with some items that weren't, showing the value of the food displayed, and by giving a short introduction of who the people in the photograph actually were.

The two photos I chose to compare were of the Fernandezes of Texas and the Aboubakars of Breidjing Camp.  One of the only similarities between the two photos is the families themselves, nearly everything else seems to be a stark contrast between their daily lives. The economic differences between the middle class American family and the impoverished Chad family are obvious. While the Aboubakars have barely enough to get by, the Fernandezes have a huge excess amount in comparison. The same amount of food would probably last the Aboubakars much longer. There are also distinct sociocultural differences between the families, which is shown in the differences between their clothes and homes for example.  I did find the text more insightful in that it pointed out that the Aboubakars are living in a refugee camp, and that they make $1.23 last an entire week for food, while the Fernandezes spend $242.48.