Proteins are the major structural component of muscle and other tissues, as well as compounds important for hormone, enzyme and hemoglobin synthesis. The building blocks of protein are amino acids; âessentialâ amino acids are those that the body cannot makeâthey must come from the diet.
Good-quality protein foods, such as eggs, contain all nine essential amino acids that are digestible as well as bioavailable.1 The high-quality proteins in eggs and milk are often a reference to assess the protein quality of other foods. In comparison, proteins from plants are of poorer quality because they do not contain all the essential amino acids, unless used in the right combination, and they are less digestible and less bioavailable.
NUTRITIONAL AND OTHER BENEFITS OF EGGS FOR CHILDREN
Children require more protein per unit of body weight than do adults. The new tissues like muscle and bone that are laid down during growth are largely built from amino acids drawn from dietary proteins. Of the twenty grams per day of protein recommended for children in the four- to six-year age group, one egg per day can provide almost 40 percent (eight grams) of the high-quality protein needed.
In addition, eggs are an excellent source of important micronutrients. For example, of the one hundred recommended micrograms (Îźg) per day of total folate (vitamin B9), one daily egg can provide almost 47 percent, and of the recÂommended one microgram per day of vitamin B12, one sixty-gram egg can provide 110 percent (1.1 Îźg). One egg provides two hundred fifty-two micrograms (63 percent) of the recommended four hundred micrograms per day of vitamin A. Eggs also contain cholineâimportant for brain development and cell functionâas well as essential fatty acids that can reduce the risk of heart disease, depression and learning difÂficulties.
Randomized controlled trials have demonÂstrated the benefits of egg consumption beginÂning in infancy. In a 2015 study in Ecuador, pubÂlished in the journal Pediatrics, infants ages six to nine months who consumed one egg per day for six months showed increased length-for-age and weight-for-age scores compared to a control group of children who did not consume daily eggs, as well as a reduced prevalence of stuntÂing and underweight.2 In another study with undernourished twelve- to eighteen-month-olds in Bangladesh, daily supplementation with one egg along with cowâs milk improved linear growth in already stunted children and was also beneficial for children at risk of stunting.3
AN EGG A DAY. . . IN SCHOOL
In certain states, school lunches in India date back to the mid-1920s.4 In 1995, the governÂment of India launched the first national primary school lunch program, renaming it in 2007 the National Programme of Mid Day Meal in Schools, or simply the âMid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme.â The current iteration of the programâ the largest such program in the world, serving nearly one hundred eighteen million children in 20215âis mandated under the 2013 National Food Security Act (NFSA).6 The act stipulates that every child in the six- to fourteen-year age group (classes I to VIII) who enrolls and attends school shall be provided with a hot cooked meal furnishing four hundred fifty calories and twelve grams of protein for primary school children, and seven hundred calories and twenty grams of protein for upper primary; the meals are to be provided free of charge and every day, except on school holidays.4 The program has multiple educational and nutritional objectives, including âto increase school enrollment and atÂtendance, decrease dropout rates, promote good health through nutritional foods and increas[e] learning ability of children.â7
Unfortunately, levels of stunting and malnutrition remain high in many states of India, reflecting widespread nutrient deficienÂcies, and the Covid pandemic and lockdowns aggravated these problems.8 Fifteen percent of Indiaâs disease burden, according to one estimate, is due to child malnutrition.9 Giving children a daily nutrient-dense food like eggs can address several of the deficiencies to which children are vulnerable. If, along with eggs, the program provides children with milk and other dairy products, meat, ghee or butter, sprouted legumes or pulses (as thick preparations in a one-to-three ratio with cereal grains or millets) and vegetables, it could go a long way toward addressing many nutritional deficiencies.
At the very least, there is a need to promote childrenâs daily consumption of one or two full eggs. Studies like the clinical trials conducted in Ecuador and Bangladesh confirm that giving children even just one egg a day, whether in preÂschool or primary school, makes both practical and nutritional sense. Indiaâs National Institute of Nutrition recommends âegg as a complete food for children.â9 Eggs are easy to store and transport, less prone to adulteration, pilferage and corruption, and can be produced locally in the communities where the schools are located. An egg also has the virtue of having a small volume, which means children can readily eat it whole as a boiled eggâideally with good-qualiÂty saltâor prepared in other ways such as in an omelette. Even if a child eats small portions, a large part of their nutritional needs will be met if eggs are added to the diet. Moreover, there is evidence that when eggs are provided as part of a schoolâs midday meal, school attendance improves, and children enjoy their food more and eat more. As one researcher puts it, eggs are âa very efficient way of packing a lot of protein into something that is small, affordable, easy to transport and cook,â making it âa perfect little package of nutrients.â5
According to the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted from 2019 through 2021,10 in the state of Karnataka, many children are not reaching their ideal height and weight. In children under age five (that is, before they start their school life at six years of age), the Karnataka survey documented a prevalence of stunting (lower height for age) of 35.4 percent and a prevalence of underweight (lower weight for age) of 32.9 percent.11 These problems are even more pronounced in children from vulnerable communities.
In 2021-22, the Government of Karnatakaâs Department of Public Instruction contracted with the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University-Gadag to conduct an impact assessment to study the provision of supplementary nutrition in Yadgir district (with Gadag district serving as the control). Yadgirâs students were given eggs and bananas on alternate days as part of the midday meal scheme. The assessment found that 98 percent of schoolchildren in Yadgir consumed the eggs and showed an overall increase in weight.12,13
OPPOSITION TO EGGS IN THE MIDDAY MEAL SCHEME
Eggs, already eaten by a majority of chilÂdren in Indiaâs government schools, are a very well-accepted food culturally. Students, parents and grandparentsâespecially in traditionally marginalized communitiesâare aware of the benefits of eggs, and since they themselves may not be able to afford eggs every day, they strongly value distribution of eggs as part of schoolsâ midday meal.14
In Karnataka, a survey showed that as early as 2006, more than 86 percent of children in govÂernment and government-aided schools wanted eggs as part of the midday meal scheme, but this was put on hold because of opposition from religious leaders. The reasons for this resistance are based neither on science nor on tradition. DeÂspite the known benefits of providing eggs and the fact that many children studying in governÂment and government-aided schools already eat eggs at home, religious groups have continued to mount stiff opposition to the distribution of eggs in the school lunches since that time.15
Some religious groups, such as the InÂternational Society for Krishna ConsciousÂness (ISKCON), promote sattvic foods (fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts) and label nutrient-dense foods that are eaten by many marginalized communities in Indiaâincluding meat, fish, eggs, onion, garlic and mushroom as well as milk products from the buffalo and goatâas inferior, forbidden or tamasic.16 Underlying Ayurveda and Yoga, there are three principal concepts or gunas: sattva (âbalance and harmonyâ), rajas (âactivity and movementâ) and tamas (âinertia, darkness and dullnessâ).17
The Akshaya Patra,18 an initiative of ISKCON, has been given the contract for the midday meal scheme in many government and government-aided schools in the country.5 Downplaying the fact that the organization receives government funds for the scheme, it projects itself as a charity that âfeeds poor children,â19 thus collecting huge donations that are largely unaccountable.
Other religious groups opposed to eggs claim that the school lunch program should not tamper with âtraditional eating practices.â They also argue that providing eggs in the midday meal scheme is discriminatory toward those vegetarian children in the school who do not eat eggs, especially as they feel that there are several vegetarian alternatives available.
After the results of 2021-22 assessment in Yadgir district became known, with 98 percent of schoolchildren consuming the eggs provided in the districtâs midday meal, a circular was isÂsued announcing the decision to provide eggs in schools in six additional districts that had severe nutritional deficiencies (Ballari, Bidar, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Raichur and Vijayapura).7 Again, however, there was immediate opposiÂtion from leaders of religious communities such as the Rashtriya Basava Dal, Lingayat Dharma Mahasabha and Akkanagalambika Mahila Gana, which claimed that eggs would have âill-effects on the well-being of a childâ and argued that â[p]roviding non-vegetarian food in governÂment schools affects the harmony in schools.â7
On the other hand, some religious leaders from these same groups do not oppose eggs in the scheme. Lingayat leader S.M. Jamdar of the Jagathika Lingayat Mahasabha (JLM) comÂmunity stated, â[V]egetarian students will be provided bananas and non-vegetarian students will be provided eggs. There is nothing wrong in this, and I want to make it clear that the JLM is not opposed to this.â7 Describing the written vachanas that form the basis of the Lingayat tradition, an author and activist stated, âFrom my reading of the vachanas, I have not discerned any opposition to meat-eating.â7
Understanding caste and âsystemic inequalÂityâ in this context is important.5 Those who claim to be vegetarian often have more power and influence over decision-making because they come from the dominant or oppressor caste groups. Many myths surround âvegetarianismâ in India; although 39 percent of the population claim to be vegetarian, definitions of the pracÂtice vary widely.5,20 Thus, the vegetarianism observed by the oppressor caste groups features diverse foods that include milk, butter, ghee, other dairy products, pulses, nuts, sprouts and vegetables, whereas the food-related policies pushed on the poor and oppressed caste groups often emphasize cheap vegetarianism, with a disproportionate focus on cereal grains and millets. Moreover, although most of those who identify as egg- and meat-eaters belong to the oppressed or marginalized caste groups, their actual consumption of those foods may be minimal due to economic reasons or political pressures, which make these foods more inacÂcessible and unaffordable. Thus, these groups are more likely to be poor and malnourished.
In short, it is important to understand the wider politics around the egg controversy in the school midday meal program. As one news account puts it, âThe agenda of faith-based orgaÂnizations and. . . groups imposing vegetarianism is antithetical to the objective of [the midday meal] scheme, which is to deliver nutritious meals to students.â5 Children in government and government-aided schools should be given the choice to consume eggs. This would be a crucial intervention given the growÂing malnutrition in the country. Science, and possibly tradition, should influence eating choices, not religion or propaganda.
REFERENCES
- Allbritton J. Eat your eggs and have your chickens, too! Motivation for having your own backyard flock. Wise Traditions. Summer 2008;9(2):70-76.
- Iannotti LL, Lutter CK, Stewart CP et al. Eggs in early complemenÂtary feeding and child growth: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics. 2017;140(1):e20163459.
- Mahfuz M, Alam MA, Das S et al. Daily supplementation with egg, cow milk, and multiple micronutrients increases linear growth of young children with short stature. J Nutr. 2020;150(2):394-403.
- Mathur B. National nutrition month: 10 things to know about Indiaâs Mid-Day Meal Scheme, worldâs largest school feeding program. NDTV-Dettol, Sep. 13, 2019.
- Jain M. Faith vs. nutrition: Indiaâs school meals program walks on eggshells. Devex, Feb. 26, 2022.
- National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013. Department of Food & Public DisÂtribution, Government of India. https://nfsa.gov.in/portal/NFSA-Act
- Sayeed VA. Vegetarian extremism in Karnataka: Lingayat groups against eggs in schools. The Hindu/Frontline, Dec. 31, 2021.
- Mid-day meal plan struggles to feed Indiaâs hungry students. BBC, Apr. 22, 2022.
- Suri S. Caught in controversy, superfood eggs can help India fight stunting, malnutrition. News18, Dec. 14, 2021. https://www.researchgate.net/publicaÂtion/358532653_Caught_in_Controversy_Superfood_Eggs_Can_Help_InÂdia_Fight_Stunting_Malnutrition
- National Family Survey 2019-2021. India, 2019 â 2021. The World Bank, May 12, 2022. https://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/4482
- International Institute for Population Sciences. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), India, 2019-20: Karnataka. Deonar, Mumbai (India): Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; March 2021, p. 22. https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/national-family-health-survey-nfhs-5-2019-21-karnataka/
- Badseshi R. Karnataka: Study notes weight gain in students of Yadgir after having eggs or bananas in midday meal. Edex Live, May 26, 2022.
- Gururaja BR. Make provision for eggs for classes 9, 10 in midday meals: study. Deccan Herald, Jul. 27, 2022.
- Karnataka: When kids ask, eggs must be given, says Department of Public Instruction. The New Indian Express, Jan. 23, 2023.
- Chatterjee S. Inclusion of eggs in Karnataka midday meals triggers political row. The News Minute, Dec. 3, 2021.
- https://iskcondesiretree.com/page/bhoga-and-kitchen-standards
- A guide to sattvic foods. Hale Pule Ayurveda & Yoga, n.d. https://www.halepule.com/guides/ayurveda/sattvic-foods
- Akshaya Patra. ISKCON Bangalore. https://www.iskconbangalore.org/akshaya-patra/
- Support Food and Education of 2 Million Children. Akshay Patra. https://www.akshayapatra.org/donate-to-midday-meal-programme?utm_source=Search-Brand&utm_medium=MDM-2Million&utm_campaign=GDN-TAPF&utm_coÂntent=+&gclid=CjwKCAiA3pugBhAwEiwAWFzwdfFHRsNEVIqHe4ISn48OXDbV47v_Pi2f9E81q7KwaWB6F64I1fzRxBoCd9IQAvD_BwE
- Corichi M. Eight-in-ten Indians limit meat in their diets, and four-in-ten consider themselves vegetarian. Pew Research Center, Jul. 8, 2021.
This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer 2023
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