Sr. Tim Lambert
For fifteen years, Tim has led the Canadian egg industry through a period of unprecedented growth as CEO of Egg Farmers of Canada. He is passionate about sustainability and helping more people in Canada and around the world access the incredible nutrition found in eggs.
A graduate from the University of Guelph in 1983 with an Honours degree in Animal and Poultry Science, Tim has worked his entire career in Agriculture. From 1983-1995, he held the roles of Chief Operating Executive and General Manager at Ontario Swine Improvement, and managed the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture’s Genetic Improvement Programs for swine, sheep and goat. He also worked in the beef cattle industry for eight years as Chief Operating Executive and General Manager of Beef Improvement Ontario, a genetic improvement company based in Guelph, before joining Egg Farmers of Canada in June of 2003.
Most recently, Tim was appointed Chairman of the International Egg Commission, a global network that represents the world’s top egg industry decision-makers in over 80 countries with partnership links to the FAO and OIE. Prior to his appointment as Chairman in 2017, he served as Chair of numerous committees at the international level.
Tim is a founding Trustee of the International Egg Foundation, an independent charitable foundation with the purpose of increasing egg production and consumption in developing countries by providing undernourished infants, children and families with an independent, sustainable, high-quality protein supply.
Since 2016, he has held the position of Chairman of the Heart for Africa (Canada) Board of Directors and Foundation. Heart for Africa (Canada) is a humanitarian organization working to bring hope to Swaziland by offering education and a safe haven to orphaned children, and through a unique 2,500 acre farm called Project Canaan that sustains the community and provides employment. Tim is also member of the Heart for Africa United States and Swaziland Board of Directors.
Tim served on the Egg Industry Center Board of Advisors of Iowa State University from 2013-2015, which guides the strategic decision that enable the center to meet the industry’s immediate research needs while also working to ensure its future. Tim was recently awarded the University of Guelph's prestigious Alumni of Honour award for his professional and volunteer contributions both nationally and globally.
Sr. Tim Lambert
Thank you for the opportunity to co-facilitate this discussion and for your thoughtful contributions to date. Your comments have been great to read through.
Many of you have raised the issue of education, not only on the benefits of eggs, but also in the area of food skills. Although, as Dr. Hélène Delisle points out, scientific evidence has now proven that eggs do not increase the risk for CVD, there remains an important opportunity to educate governments, health professionals and consumers in this area, and to highlight the many nutritional benefits and high quality protein of eggs.
The examples given by Rabiu Auwalu Yakasai of the FEED program and the stories shared by Teopista Mutesi of the FAO poultry project illustrate the powerful impact that skills development and knowledge transfer can have on improving nutritional status. Please continue to share your success stories and lessons learned towards similar projects.
The International Egg Foundation, in partnership with local communities, seeks to increase both egg production and consumption. One example is the work with Heart for Africa, where a newly-constructed egg farm in Swaziland is adding a sustainable source of protein to more than 888,000 meals per year. In Uganda, a local contact works with children to develop the skills to care for hens and later build the skills to manage a small business. The project provides families with a sustainable source of protein and the opportunity to expand their efforts.
Much like these projects there is an opportunity to share knowledge and evident-based research to strengthen farming practices. For example, in Canada, Codes of Practice and nationally developed guidelines serve the foundation for ensuring hens are cared for using practices that promote animal health and welfare. There are also a number of well documented research studies that discuss a host of welfare factors in egg production. Forum participants may like to refer to the Wageningen University and Research Institute’s LayWel study, or the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply study that analysed animal health and well-being, food safety and quality, environment, worker health and safety, and food affordability.
On the topic of sustainable egg production, researchers in both Europe and North America are helping producers make sustainability improvements. These studies offer important information that reduce the environmental footprint of egg production, while producing more eggs with fewer resources. These tools deliver practical and impactful opportunities to tackle environmental challenges. While these results are positive, there remains an important opportunity to share these insights more widely. I am very interested in your thoughts on new areas to explore when it comes to sustainable egg production.
I look forward to reading through more contributions highlighting ongoing projects, successes and challenges with making eggs more accessible. Thank you again for your thoughts.