“Beryl Cook, (10 September 1926 – 28 May 2008) was an English artist best known for her original and instantly recognisable paintings of people enjoying themselves in pubs,girls shopping or out on a hen night. Drag shows or a family picnicing by the seaside or abroad – tangoing in Buenos Aires or gambling in Las Vegas. She had no formal training and did not take up painting until middle age”. – Wikipedia. Photo: “Ladies Night”, 1991. Artwork by Beryl Cook.

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.

A frog sits on a leaf and instead of seeing a reflection of itself in the water below, it sees a snail, attached to the bottom of the leaf, in a fish tank in Vietnam. (Photo by Duong Quoc Dinh/Solent Ne/SIPA Press)

Nine year old girl Barsati reacts while walking on a tightrope in Mumbai on February 11, 2014. Barsati, and her younger brother Rajababu, (4) earn an average of around 2000 rupees (32 dollars) per day from pedestrians and tourists performing various acts on the tightrope near the city's iconic landmark Gateway of India. (Photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP Photo)

A woman offers prayers by a road as a rickshaw puller transports passengers in Kolkata October 28, 2014. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A Felix the Cat balloon and other parade floats and balloons are led down Broadway during the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; ca. 1900s, Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York State, USA. (Photo by Underwood & Underwood/Corbis)