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.

Some foods have significantly more Calories than others but what does the difference actually look like. Each of the photographs below represents 200 Calories of the particular type of food; the images are sorted from low to high calorie density. When you consider that an entire plate of broccoli contains the same number of Calories as a small spoonful of peanut butter, you might think twice the next time you decide what to eat. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average adult needs to consume about 2000 – 2500 Calories to maintain their weight. In other words, you have a fixed amount of Calories to "spend" each day; based on the following pictures, which would you eat?

Models Miranda Kerr, Candice Swanepoel, Adriana Lima and Erin Heatherton attend The Reveal of the What Is s*xy? List celebrated by Victoria's Secret Bombshells at The Beverly on May 12, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Victoria's Secret)

A participant with a painted face takes part in Delhi Queer Pride March, an event promoting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, in New Delhi, India on January 8, 2023. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Participants compete in the High-Heels Race as part of the Pride celebrations, in the Chueca neighbourhood in Madrid on July 4 29, 2024. MADO (Madrid Pride) is a series of street celebrations that take place during the city´s LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisеxual, transgender, intersеx and queer) Pride week. (Photo by Óscar del Pozo/AFP Photo)

A participant takes part in the High-Heels Race as part of the Pride celebrations, in the Chueca neighbourhood in Madrid on July 7, 2022. MADO (Madrid Pride) is a series of street celebrations that take place during the city's LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersеx and queer) Pride week. The Pride parade on July 9 will be the highlight of the week. (Photo by Javier Soriano/AFP Photo)

Drag Queen Gaypin (R) and her friends attend the three day RuPaul's DragCon, which is billed as the “first convention celebrating drag, queer culture, & self-expression” at the Convention Center in Los Angeles, California on May 25, 2019. (Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP Photo)

In this October 8, 2017, photo, Emily Lynch reacts to hitting her first clay target during a training session for the Trigger Warning Queer & Trans Gun Club in Victor, N.Y. A gay, lesbian and transgender group concerned that extremists have become more emboldened and dangerous have decided to take up arms. The gun club meets once a month to shoot long guns in a field in upstate New York. (Photo by Adrian Kraus/AP Photo)