In the continuing misery being faced by children as policy-makers increasingly push for an agenda of vegetarianism that has never been endorsed or debated in a country consisting of largely non-vegetarian people. Through a report by an expert committee, headed by John Vijay Sagar, Professor and Head, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NIMHANS on health, the New Education Policy Karnataka has once again opened up the debate on the merits of giving eggs to children in schools as part of the mid-day meal programme. In arguing for a ‘satvik’ diet for children, this report is not only completely unscientific and baseless but also casteist in denying people food choices.
https://countercurrents.org/2022/07/statement-in-response-to-the-nep-report-in-karnataka/
In a bizarre recommendation, the report uses the rationale that eggs are high in cholesterol and therefore should not be included in a country where only about 3% of children had high cholesterol as per the recent CNNS report, while nearly 40% suffered from stunting.
In such a context, eggs provide many of the nutritional needs of children, including good quality proteins, iron, vitamins, and fats and are recommended by most nutritional experts in a population that is known to suffer from malnutrition, anemia and protein deficiency. They are tasty, affordable, simple to cook, and less vulnerable to adulteration and pilferage than other nutritious foods. There is also evidence that they increase school attendance in food-insecure sections of society. Moreover, current levels of consumption of eggs are quite low (due to reasons of affordability rather than preference) with data from the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) 2016-18 data showing that only 16% of children in the age group of 2 to 4 years and 35% adolescents consumed eggs the previous day, whereas more than half the families interviewed claimed to have a preference for non-vegetarian diets.
We condemn such reports which are trying to divert attention away from solving the grave problem of malnutrition by strengthening local food systems and ensuring diverse and healthy diets for everyone. Such reports only serve to perpetuate caste and religious biases, while denying the most marginalised their basic right to food.
Press release
15/07/2022