Why BJP states denying children eggs in mid day meals is wrong on every count
“Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao ande,” is a jingle many would have heard. The National Egg Co-Ordination Committee’s ads go back a long time, and the message has always been one of common sense: Eggs are good for health. This is, perhaps, a message that has not made its way to a lot of states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Or so a recent report would suggest.
According to an IndiaSpend report, “14 of 19 BJP-majority states deny eggs to children in schools and anganwadis.” Swati Narayan, a research scholar and an activist with the “Right to Food” campaign, mapped the inclusion of eggs in mid-day meals in schools and anganwadis across India using government data and media reports.
The IndiaSpend report lists three very pertinent points. One, of the 10 states with the worst nutrition outcomes in India, only three provide eggs to children (Bihar, Jharkhand and Karnataka). Two, only five of the 19 states governed by the BJP give eggs to children. And three, while some non-BJP states too (Punjab, Mizoram and Delhi) do not provide eggs in mid-day meals, BJP states are most likely to resist the inclusion of eggs for reasons related to the sentiments of vegetarians.
The final point — some would call it an assertion — is one that needs to be looked at. Does the BJP have a decidedly vegetarian agenda?
If the health ministry is anything to go by, it most certainly does. Back in April, the ministry’s social media account tried to pass off this agenda under the guise of better health through a misleading infographic — a supposedly unhealthy physique was shown comprising of junk food and non-vegetarian items, while a healthy one was shown full of vegetables.
But why does this agenda exist? It’s not like vegetarianism is the trend in India. According to a 2014 survey conducted by the office of registrar general and census commissioner, 71 per cent of Indians over the age of 15 are non-vegetarian.
In fact, according to sociologist Suryakant Waghmore, “Broadly, present-day vegetarianism in India constitutes a form of moral power of minority within Hindus, with such a power being forced on the non-vegetarian majority – with their consent. This new sociality is a sign of progress in modern caste belief where the seductive power of vegetarianism and its associated purity travels seamlessly across bodies and spaces without dissent.”
Vegetarianism, of course, is not a good idea, especially in the mid-may meal and anganwadi schemes. According to Mansi Patil, a public health nutritionist and metabolism clinical dietician at AshaKiran Hospital, Pune, “Eggs will be helpful in addressing malnutrition among kids because scientific research shows that animal-based protein is better than plant-based protein.”
In fact, eggs are a good source of a variety of nutrients like vitamin B2, vitamin D, B6, B12 and minerals such as zinc, iron and copper. Egg yolks contain more calories and fat. They are the source of cholesterol, fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and lecithin.
But there may be another factor, apart from the supposed Hindu agenda of vegetarianism — cost. According to the report, eggs may be unaffordable in the north-east because of free poultry industries that pushes up the price of procurement. According to Arunachal Pradesh’s 2018-19 mid-day meal policy, “Green leafy vegetables and fruits are available in rural areas with minimum prices and these are important items included in the menu, but eggs are not available and unaffordable.” Even former Union health secretary K Sujatha Rao told IndiaSpend that costs are a major concern in the inclusion of eggs in mid-day meals.
The excuse may be cost or cultural, but the lack of eggs in mid-day meals is a problem that need to be addressed.