EGG - A Nutritious Food

Egg is a healthy and nutritious food. Table eggs being non-fertile, as rightly put forth by Mahatma Gandhiji, are 'as vegetarian as milk and honey', for they can never become the chirpy chicks! Eventhough eggs contain considerable amounts of cholesterol, lecithin in eggs prevents the absorption of cholesterol of egg and other sources too. (Kansas State University Report, 2001). Several Medical studies have shown that eating eggs is not related to body cholesterol levels or cardiovascular problems (University of Connecticut report 2004), recommending 'people with normal cholesterol levels and no family history of cardiovascular diseases, should not worry about eating one or two eggs a day'. Beaks are just like the nails, and therefore their trimming need not be done under anesthesia. Debeaked chicks resume feed intake within a few hours, and then all along their life would continue to consume feed. Birds are housed with enough space for their comfort and production and the statement "hundreds of birds crammed into one cage" is not true. The way eggs are produced in India have been a model to many countries and hence today India is world's fourth largest producer of table eggs exporting them even to quality conscious places like the European Union and the Gulf countries. I therefore, strongly recommend the production and consumption of hen eggs from nutrition, health and economic point of view.