Eggs for a better life: Happy World Egg Day!
World Egg Day is celebrated worldwide on the second Friday of October. This year’s theme is “eggs for a better life”, a theme that celebrates eggs’ nutritional and environmental benefits.
The History of Eggs
Historians think that humans have been consuming eggs for nearly 6 million years. They initially ate them raw from the nests of wild birds. They also believe that people in Ancient Egypt and China were the first to domesticate hens. Egyptians were also the first to start the egg business by incubating eggs in small caves around 1400 BCE; they also used them for ceremonial purposes as they believed they were sacred.
Historians cannot point out how boiled eggs became the primary source of nutrition in our lives. However, the common belief is that the Ancient Romans invented first scrambled eggs and even made omelettes, even though the French invented the term. It is also thought that Columbus first carried the chickens he found in Asia to the New World. In return, they brought back the turkey bird, whose name refers to different countries in different languages, but initially, that poultry bird was from the Americas.
Mrs Wilmer Steele’s Broiler House: the woman who founded the multi-billion-dollar chicken industry.
A woman’s name catches our attention when we look at the history of eggs. Mrs Wilmer Steele, the Southern Delaware housewife, became the first person in the world to invent the chicken industry by founding the first Broiler House in 1923. The multi-billion-dollar business started with a mistake made by a delivery man, who misunderstood her order of 50 chickens and brought her 500 chickens instead.
Mrs Wilmer Steele turned this mistake into an opportunity and became the inventor of the modern chicken industry today. This may not be a good invention for some, but it was other others who later abused this idea and changed everything.
Eggs’ nutritional benefits and value around the world
Eggs are a source of high-quality protein, alongside iron, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. In addition, they are beneficial for brain development and improving eyesight and memory. Eggs are also believed to be a ‘sustainable’ food source as they are among the animal-based foods with the lowest carbon emissions. Therefore, not only do they positively impact our wellbeing, but they are also more environmentally friendly — than some other products.
Eggs are an essential part of our kitchens that also shaped the breakfast culture in many countries.
By the 15th century, it became a part of Western breakfast culture when an English medicine writer Tobias Venner introduced the health benefits of eating eggs for breakfast in 1620. It also made sense to consume eggs for breakfast as chickens lay their eggs in the morning, and farmers were able to collect eggs in the morning.
Each culture has a different recipe when it comes to consuming eggs. For example, the French prefer their omelettes, while Turks love their Menemen. On the other hand, North Africans use eggs in the mornings in their shakshuka (ironically, Israel culturally appropriated shakshuka as Israeli food), while Americans have their classic Bacon and Eggs.
For instance, the Britons use eggs as snacks and prepare what is called Scotch Eggs. Moreover, the country that consumes eggs the most is thought to be Japan. This is because Japanese people eat mostly raw eggs and use them in various dishes, such as soups and rice.
The significance of eggs in different cultures and the ancient art of decorating eggs
In most cultures, eggs represent reproduction, earth, eternal life, and fertility. In Ancient Egypt, Greece, and India, eggs were used in religious ceremonies and were considered sacred. Archaeologists found eggs in ancient Roman tombs, displaying that people believed eggs symbolised life after death and resurrection.
Eggs generally symbolise a new life and unhatched potential. The egg promises new beginnings and a future accomplished. Monotheistic religions appropriated the egg’s symbolism from the previous one. For example, it is a Jewish tradition to have a white roasted egg as a part of the seder plate at Passover. However, orthodox Christians in Mesopotamia took this symbol and painted it red as a symbol of Christ’s blood.
And thus, eggs became a part of religious ceremonies in Christianity to symbolise the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The painted Easter eggs of Christianity and painted eggs of Nowruz celebrated in Asian countries with diverse religious beliefs can be counted as examples of the eggs’ significance in rituals of different cultures.
Eggs are an essential part of human culture and a contribution of the poultry family for continuing our existence. With the emerging new consciousness about how industrialisation and capitalism turned the egg business into the exploitation of a species is concerning. We hope that we can together discover, design and develop a new way of coexisting together and benefiting from this gift of life to continue our lives in this world without harming the animals and the environment.
If you are interested in discovering the cultural significance of your business, discipline or value proposition, reach out to us, and we will dig deep to find its cultural meaning and symbolism for your business.
