Every year, on the second Friday in October, eggs are honoured with a special celebration called World Egg Day. But just how big can one little egg be that it gets its own international day of observation? The short answer – JUMBO!
This gutsy little protein power house is eaten by more people around the globe than any other animal food source. It is a perfectly complete protein containing all the essential amino acids for building and repairing body tissue and provides 50% of the daily recommended allowance of protein and 100% of iron for developing children. Eggs are one of the most affordable and accessible proteins in the world, providing nutrients for human growth and cognitive development, and stronger societies.
“But, if current declining production trends continue as a result of continued disease challenges, changing production practices and the removing of innovation from some parts of the world, our farmers won’t be able to meet the increasing global demand for more eggs as well as other animal proteins such as meat and milk. Nearly half the globe – 4.5 billion people – won’t meet their nutritional needs by 2040 on the current production trajectory,” explains Andre Westerveld, Regional Director of Elanco South Africa.
These sobering and alarming facts about our current and future food security status, among many others, are laid bare in a food security report released by the ENOUGH™ movement which is committed to building a food-secure world by 2050. The ENOUGH movement is spearheaded by Elanco, a global innovation-driven company that develops and markets products to improve animal health and food animal production in more than 75 countries.
Egg Production is Under Threat
“The 2013 Food Forward Analysis, (Dr. Roger Cady. Elanco Animal Health. 2013 Food Forward Analysis), examined the global egg industry, finding a startling example of what happens when innovation is prohibited. More than a decade of disease, social pressures and increasing regulations on safe, proven practices have dropped global hen productivity nearly an egg/hen/year after decades of increases.
“On the current path, we will need 12.6 billion birds worldwide – nearly double today’s 6.4 billion – plus the massive resources to support them to meet demand in 2050.
We’re meeting current demand by adding more hens which are simply not sustainable. Instead, we need to bring back innovation and help hens produce more,” adds Andre.
By using innovation, and not adding hens, we would save annually:
- 113 million tons of feed (26%) – approximately enough to fill 25 000 grain silos (with a capacity of 4500 tons each).
- 260 000 square kilometers of land (26%) – more than one-quarter of the size of South Africa.
- 280 billion litres of water (31%) – the equivalent of 4 444 Vaal Dams. “These comparisons provide a staggering idea of just how intensive our current agricultural practices are in terms of resource usage. By producing just one more egg per hen per year will help meet demand and requires 4 billion fewer hens,” explains Andre.
- Top Solutions to a Food-Secure Tomorrow
According to the food security report released by the ENOUGH™ movement, there are many pathways that can have an impact on achieving a food secure world; however, research, experts, history and practical global execution point to three solutions that stand out as the most significant, can have the most impact and can be acted upon the quickest.
- Innovation – the products, practices and genetics that help farmers produce more food more sustainably – innovations that, in many cases, are already available, safe, regulated and proven. Experts from scientists to economists say it’s the biggest part of the solution – 70%. We must enable innovation more than any other time in our history.
- Choice – farmers need to be able to choose the right practices for their operations. Consumers need to be able to choose food that fits their price, taste and nutritional needs. And we need regulators and policy makers to make science-based policy choices. Choice must not be taken away without a fact-based, legitimate reason from science-based regulators.
- Trade – the mechanism that allows us to produce food where it’s more economical and sustainable and deliver it to people who need it. Pure economics and the environment prove that food must move from the most to the least productive areas for a food secure tomorrow. Politics needs to be reduced while trade needs to increase in parallel with local advances in food production.
“The focus around World Egg Day provides an opportune time to draw attention to the rights of consumers to expect safe food produced responsibly, and an industry that has a responsibility when it comes to defining responsible and sustainable production. The ENOUGH™ movement has shown that through research and innovation in our food production, we can provide solutions to deliver enough food. The question is do we have enough courage, enough leadership and enough urgency to make it happen? With the right dialogue, the right science-based policies, and the right innovative solutions, we can ensure we will have enough, without using too much of our resources. It will take solutions like innovation, choice and trade,” concludes Andre.
Crack open the facts about eggs:
- 1 egg is equal to half the protein a child needs in their diet each day.
- 1 egg/day can allow a child to increase weight and height 1.5 times faster.
- 1 egg has the protein to help prevent muscle loss in older adults.
- 1 egg has the nutrients to improve brain function in children and adults.
- 1 egg is one of the most affordable sources of high-quality protein.
- 1 egg/day can improve development in impoverished children.
- China produces about 160 billion eggs per year, making it the largest egg producer in the world.
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