By Kayla Jackson
Hunger is just a word. It can represent a desire or craving for something. It can represent that slight pain individuals get in their stomach right before lunch. However, for others, hunger can be an everyday struggle.
According to a recent article in USA Today there has been a shortage in food banks because the government is purchasing less food. As a result, food banks are giving out less food to families and individuals who are in need. Throughout history hunger in the United States has occurred due to failed crops, war, poverty and drought. According to the World Hunger Organization, the United States had a dramatic increase in hunger statistics in 2008. By 2010, 17.2 million households were food insecure, which is a “lack of access to a nutritious and adequate food supply,” according to Feeding America. This was the highest number America had ever seen.
According to Feeding America, food insecurity is associated with diabetes. Food insecurity is also associated with aggression and anxiety as well as responsible for low scores on physical and mental health exams, so having access to food is vitally important for mental and physical health.
“Making high-quality food available to the hungry throughout the world is a priority for egg businesses,” Kristin Livermore, director of marketing communications for the American Egg Board, said.
The American Egg Board: Good Egg Project
The American Egg Board created the Good Egg Project, a project that annually donates 12 million eggs to food banks and charities through egg farmers, according to their website. The cause has encouraged 250,000 people to take the Good Egg pledge. The pledge vows to “Eat good [and] do good every day.” Each pledge equals one egg donated to Feeding America, an organization dedicated to feeding and ending hunger in America.
In addition to the donations to food banks and charities, the Good Egg Project has also fed those in need at community breakfasts throughout America. Since 2009, the Good Egg Project and America’s egg farmers have partnered with organizations—Sesame Street, Discovery Education and Feeding America—in order to educate Americans about the process that eggs go through before being sold in stores and put on families’ dinner tables.
Unscrambled: Facts about Eggs
According to Nutrition Unscrambled, a blog written by staff and advisors at the Egg Nutrition Center, eggs have 17,000 pores on the outside of their shell. About 280 million hens in the United States can produce 250 to 300 eggs per year. The United States produces about 75 billion eggs per year, which is about 10 percent of the world supply.
According to the Incredible Egg website, the color of the yolk in an egg depends on the color pigment of the plants being put into the feed that the hens eat. If an egg is raw it will wobble and will spin easily if it is hard boiled. Eggs can be used in many things—facials, shampoos, conditioners, soaps, paints, makeup foundations and even lipsticks. Each day, 208 million eggs are laid in the United States. Sixty percent of those eggs are purchased by consumers, while 9 percent of those eggs are purchased by the food industry.
Ultimately, egg farmers are working to lessen the impact of hunger. Eggs positively affect a person’s health by providing protein, bettering brain and eye function, increasing muscle strength, and providing weight management, while reducing hunger. To take the Good Egg pledge, visit the American Egg Board website.
