In 2015, Cambridge University published a study that revealed the countries with the healthiest diets. The top slots were filled by African countries where meals are vegetable-, fruit-, grain-, and nut-heavy. Unsurprisingly, the bottom tier was occupied with Western countries like the U.S., where 60% of our calories are from processed foods. Photographer Gregg Segal decided to show what kids around the world eat in a week in an effort to bring awareness to the Westernization of diets and how globalization is internationally affecting our relationship with food.
“I’m making my way around the world, asking kids to keep a journal of everything they eat in a week,” Segal wrote on his website. “Once the week is up, I make a portrait of the child with the food arranged around them. I’m focusing on kids because eating habits, which form when we’re young, last a lifetime and often pave the way to chronic health problems like diabetes, heart disease and colon cancer.”
His project, Daily Bread, focuses in on slow food production and cultures where junk food will never replace home cooking. “When the hand that stirs the pot is mom or dad, grandma or grandma, kids are healthier,” Segal continued.
“The deeper goal of Daily Bread is to be a catalyst for change and link to a growing, grassroots community that is moving the needle on diet.”
Not only is his mission incredibly noble, but Segal’s photos are beautiful to look at.
Segal notes that Daily Bread is also a way for Western culture to see how their fast food industries have begun to expand abroad. As he explains, junk food giants have made fast food into a status symbol in countries with poorer middle classes.
Segal even included his own son, Hank, in the project, noting that Hank needs to eat more greens.
You can learn more about Segal and his Daily Bread mission via his website. There, and on Segal’s Instagram page, you can see his entire Daily Bread body of work and learn more about the children pictured in each photo.
This is a seriously fun and gorgeous way to bring awareness to what kids are eating around the globe.
