Dear Moderator,
Eggs are a useful element in the challenging fight to improve nutrition. Let us not forget that there are also other plentiful foods that are as useful as eggs, and better suited to meet the challenge of sustainably improving nutrition for the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) where incomes are between $1 and $3 per day. As the attached brief (Cost of Protein in Africa) shows, the retail cost of protein provided via soy foods (either soy flour or locally produced soymilk/yoghurt) is less than half the cost of eggs. Soymilk can also be supplemented readily with low-cost micro-nutrient powders to provide Vit A,B,C,E, folic acid, iron and zinc , among others, to provide a super-nutritious, yet more affordable and highly accessible food supplement. Also, egg production uses several times more energy, water and land (to grow the chicken feed) than soybean cultivation for human consumption, and produces 10x greenhouse gas emissions, therefore is less environmentally sustainable.
Every possible solution to fight chronic malnutrition should be considered and deployed. There is no single food commodity that provides the solution, but let's keep our sights on accessibility, affordability and sustainability.
best regards,
Hart Jansson, President
Malnutrition Matters
M. Hart Jansson