A Worldwide Day's Worth of Food
Brazil, The Amazon Fisherman
João Agustinho Cardoso
Age: 69; Height: 5' 2.5"; Weight: 140 pounds
Caloric value of food this day: 5200 calories
BREAKFAST: Hileia crackers, 3.2 oz. Nestle Ninho whole milk, from powder, 10.6 fl. oz.
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MIDDAY SNACK: Hileia crackers, 3.2 oz. Windy fruit drink, made from a powdered mix, 10.3 fl. oz.
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LUNCH AND DINNER (cooked at one time and eaten for both meals): Curimata (a freshwater fish), 2.3 lb. (whole, raw weight), boiled with onion and green onion, 5.8 oz., with garlic, chicory leaves, alfavaca (a basil-like herb), black pepper, salt, and urucum powder (for red coloring), 0.9 oz. Adria spaghetti, 1.4 lb., and pinto beans, 5.9 oz. (dry weight), cooked with Sadia soybean oil, 1.5 fl. oz., eaten with the fish and the salty broth from cooking the fish, 14.5 fl. oz. Manioc flour, liberally sprinkled on every dish, 11 oz. salt for lunch and dinner, 1 tbsp.
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THROUGHOUT THE DAY: Water, collected from a government-built well located a 30 minutes away by boat 2.1 qt.
João Agustinho Cardoso's menu has changed substantially since he began to receive a government pension for rural Brazilians in his mid-60s. In addition to his staple diet of fish, the onetime subsistence fisherman now eats store-bought pasta and sweets.