Egg Industry - December 2008

➤EI: How is the AEB funded?

JI: The $21.5 million budget for 2008 was derived from a 10-cent check-off for each 30- dozen case produced. Our activities are monitored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and legislation restricts our expenditures to promotion, education and research.

➤EI: What are the prospects for future
funding to increase the consumption of
eggs?

JI: The media budget has not kept pace with inflation and our expenditures have remained relatively flat for the past 10 years. We should have increased our expenditure by more that 50% over this period just to keep pace with inflation. The Board has requested USDA to conduct a referendum to consider increasing the AEB assessment to 15 cents per case with the industry rendering a decision in 2009.

➤EI: Please highlight some of the achieve-
ments in nutritional research on which AEB
promotion is based.

JI: Since 1984, the American Egg Board has funded the Egg Nutrition Center in order to provide the most up-to-date science-based information on the nutritional contribution of eggs to the American diet.

The Egg Nutrition Center has promoted more than thirty years of research that concludes that healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their risk of heart disease. In addition, the Egg Nutrition Center has recently funded research that demonstrates the many nutritional benefits of eggs, including high-quality protein consumption, meal patterning and weight loss, as well as choline intake and prenatal nutrition.

Currently, researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, are looking at two antioxidants founds in the egg yolks, lutein and zeanxathin, and the role they play in promoting eye health. Also, researchers at Tufts University are evaluating egg consumption at breakfast and associated cognition and school performance in children.

➤EI: How is the AEB responding to the is-
sue of flock welfare and opposition to com-
mercial egg production?

JI: Since AEB funds can only be expended on marketing, education and research programs, we are restrained from any activities construed as political involvement. This is the province of the United Egg Producers which was the lead organization in opposing California Proposition 2.

The AEB is of the opinion that consumers should have a choice when purchasing eggs

and accordingly it is appropriate to provide educational material relating to traditional and alternative housing systems.

AEB has developed an award-winning educational DVD, titled “Eggs 101: A Video Project.” This DVD received a Bronze Award in the educational program section of the 2008 Telly Awards.

The video is being distributed to 40,000 middle and high schools, public libraries, retailers and university food science departments

nationwide. In 2009 AEB will expand its distribution to reach a wider audience. The teachers’ guide PDF together with the video will serve as a counterpoint to the extensive material issued by opponents of intensive animal agriculture. These organizations have targeted future consumers at the school level to adopt a vegan agenda.