Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

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    • To Saul Morris - thank you for your response and for facilitating this discussions.

      I did not talk about conflict of interest, just wondered what such a cooperation was supposed to give. My question stands.

      There is a lot of work to do regarding animal welfare and consideration on the environment and those need to systematically be added to such discussions. Otherwise we are just ignoring some of the most important factors around animal husbandry recognized, by FAO, as one of the main polluter. So the question is: for the sake of some nutrition benefits, how much are we willing to jeopardize the environment and therefore the health of people, of other animals, of other nutritious plants... Is the trade-off worth it? According to FAO and others, not really. The food (and water) used to feed the chicken could be used differently.

      We could also mention that the poultry industry is also a heavy user of medication for the animals which are then transmitted to our health. Not sure this is something that could be avoided in the developing countries. We do not have exemplary models at home of industrial poultry farming (which by definition is not good for the environment or health) ... so not sure one exists in other parts of the world.

    • Where to start...

      Those 9 articles do not teach us anything really new...

      Not only are they not conclusive on the actual contribution of eggs to nutrition (what can be attributed to eggs vs. what can be attributed to SBCC?), they also show that egg production, unless done in an extensive manner, cannot really lead to cheap egg production, therefore to easy access for the poorest. This is rather convenient when the main partner for this discussion is one of the biggest lobby firm for the egg (and animal exploitation for food) industry.

      Unfortunately, there is not much about animal welfare and on the trade off that the production of eggs on an industrial basis would mean for not only the environment but also for health. Let's not forgot the many scandals plegging the egg industry around the world and the number of people getting sick because of the need to produce always more.

      Click on the link to the Canada International Egg Commission and check all their members... it is very telling on how eggs production need to make checking and their eggs (babies) a commodity that is fed with antibiotic and kept from seeing the light of day. Is this the model we want for Africa? Is this the model we want at all?

      We can agree that egg provide important nutrients, but those can be found in many other non-animal based products that respect animals and the environment (to the exception of the B12 vitamin). So the real question here, knowing that eggs can only be made available to the masses through industrialisation and commoditization of animals, do we really need eggs to fight hunger and malnutrition? Really?