What the World Eats

This photo essay on TIME's website is from the book "Hungry Planet" (photos by Peter Menzel). It amazes me. I've gone through it numerous times, focusing on different elements on each pass: soda, vegetables, cost, canned goods, grains, fish, processed foods, size of family, quantity of food, regional preferences... Food is a common denominator - we all need to eat - so it's interesting to connect with people from around the world at this basic level. How are we similar? How are we different?