Looters scramble in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, Sunday September 10, 1995 for goods in the Ram's department store, which contained mostly food and liquor. No attempts are currently being made by Dutch troops on the island to stop the looting, since few relief supplies have arrived in St. Maarten, which was ravaged on Tuesday by Hurricane Luis. (Photo by John McConnico/AP Photo)

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 wild golden jackals (Canis aureus) mother and her cub entered a house for food at noon. The baby was curiously sniffing all things beside him trying to enter the room of the house and her mother immediately roared and warned her. This photo was taken ahead of the International Day for Biological Diversity 2022 at Tehatta, West Bengal, India on May 21, 2022. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

In this March 30, 2020, photo, Zandile Mlotshwa, 21, cashier at Spar supermarket in the Norwood suburb of Johannesburg, counts her cash at the end of her shift. From South Africa to Italy to the U.S., grocery workers – many in low-wage jobs – are manning the front lines amid worldwide lockdowns, their work deemed essential to keep food and critical goods flowing. (Photo by Jerome Delay/AP Photo)

A handout picture taken and released by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) on March 25, 2024 shows humanitarian aid being airdropped over Gaza from a RAF A400M aircraft The Royal Air Force airdropped over 10 tonnes of food supplies into Gaza for the first time on Monday, as part of international efforts to provide life-saving assistance to civilians. The aid consists of water, rice, cooking oil, flour, tinned goods and baby formula. (Photo by Leah Jones/MOD/AFP Photo)

Boys and younger men from the Ilosvai Selymes Peter folk dance group pour buckets of cold water on a girl as they attend the traditional watering of local girls on Easter Monday in Komarovce, Velke Trakany, Slovakia on April 10, 2023. During Easter Holy Week, the ancient tradition of Easter sprinkling known as “watering of the girls” when Hungarian boys visit their female friends, recite poems, and pour water on them, and in exchange the girls offer the boys food and drink. (Photo by Robert Nemeti/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

In this photo provided by Greenpeace, clothes are left to dry on a typhoon damaged tree in Surigao City, southern Philippines on Monday December 20, 2021. The governor of a central Philippine province devastated by Typhoon Rai last week pleaded on radio Tuesday for the government to quickly send food and other aid, warning that without outside help, army troops and police forces would have to be deployed to prevent looting amid growing hunger. (Photo by Jilson Tiu/Greenpeace via AP Photo)

A migratory bird picks her food as army soldiers are reflected in a fountain during rehearsals for the upcoming Republic Day parade at the Raisina hills, the government seat of power, in New Delhi, India, Monday, January 18, 2021. India celebrates Republic Day on Jan. 26, highlighted by a march past by different branches of the military as well as a display of arms and missiles. (Photo by Manish Swarup/AP Photo)