Idaho Museum of Natural History to host “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats” photo exhibition

Photographer Peter Menzel and author Faith D’Aluisio spent time with the families as they farmed, shopped, cooked and ate. At the end of each visit, they created a portrait of the family surrounded by a week’s worth of their groceries. 

The goal of the project and books is to help people see the world in a broader context and provide the means for comparing oneself to others.  

“Hungry Planet: What the World Eats” exhibition is an expanded version of Menzel and D’Auisio’s original project, and features 15 families from 12 countries. Each section shows how the family acquires its food and prepares it according to the related cultural traditions. The centerpiece is a family portrait with members gathered around a still-life display of a week’s worth of groceries. The exhibition also offers insights into each country’s nutrition and health along with the impact that poverty, conflict and globalization may have had.

“Americans often struggle with our relationship to food as we are bombarded with new diets and fads,” said Kate Reedy, ISU anthropology professor. ”Eating is the most central and fundamental aspect of human society, the basis of health and social life, yet it is often undervalued in its importance. This exhibit allows us to see our own food practices in global context and to appreciate the variety of households and needs, but also to understand the consequences of food shortages.”

The photo exhibition was previously displayed at COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food, and the Arts, Napa, California; Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago; Exploris Kids Museum, Raleigh, North Carolina; Museum of the African Disapora, San Francisco; and COSI, Columbus, Ohio.

The museum also has two additional exhibits available to guests, the “Ice Age Animal” exhibit and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service exhibit “Titanaboa: Monster Snake.”

The Idaho Museum of Natural History is open Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday noon.-5 p.m. Admission to the museum is $8 for adults, $5 for seniors, $2 for ISU students with valid ID, $2 for youth 4-17, and children 3 and under are free.

For more information about the Idaho Museum of Natural History please visit imnh.isu.edu or call (208) 282-3168.