“On the Li River near Xingping in China, Cormorant fishermen work the waterways before dawn amidst the spectacular limestone towers of the Karst landscape. The birds are trained to fetch fish from the inky depths but not swallow them. The fisherman accepts the fish from the birds who dive back for more. Here, still before dawn, the fisherman and his birds head for home”. (Photo and caption by Neville Jones/2014 Sony World Photography Awards)

A stunning photographic collection featuring portraits of people from 30 countries and the food they eat in one day. In this fascinating study of people and their diets, 80 profiles are organized by the total number of calories each person puts away in a day. Featuring a Japanese sumo wrestler, a Massai herdswoman, world-renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adria, an American competitive eater, and more, these compulsively readable personal stories also include demographic particulars, including age, activity level, height, and weight. Essays from Harvard primatologist Richard Wrangham, journalist Michael Pollan, and others discuss the implications of our modern diets for our health and for the planet. This compelling blend of photography and investigative reportage expands our understanding of the complex relationships among individuals, culture, and food.

Riot police runs as a woman falls down during a May Day rally in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, Germany, 01 May 2016. (Photo by Kay Nietfeld/EPA)

Wild Thang, a Pekingese competing in the 2023 World’s Ugliest Dog Contest sits in the waiting kennel before the start of the annual World's Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California, on June 23, 2023. Scooter was the winner of the 2023 World’s Ugliest Dog Competition. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/AFP Photo)

Two stallions confront each other at a horse fighting contest in Rongshui, China. More than 30 horses from surrounding regions took part in the traditional activity of the Lantern festival. (Photo by China Foto Press)

A kite flying contest is held in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu featuring various kites of different shapes on December 20, 2017. (Photo by SIPA Asia/Pacific Press/Barcroft Images)

Contestants in the Miss International Queen, a transgender beauty pageant, in Pattaya, Thailand, on Saturday, August 24, 2024. (Photo by Andre Malerba/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Actor Brad Pitt films a scene from “World War Z” in Glasgow City centre on August 18, 2011 in Glasgow, Scotland. The film, which is set in Philadelphia, will be shot in various parts of the city transforming it into ruins to shoot a post apocalyptic zombie film. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)