From symbolism to a US egg espionage story, Kim and Leigh turn their attention to nature’s perfect package, the glorious egg.
Egg as Symbol of Life
As we’ve previously explored in our episodes on Nowruz and Passover – two spring holidays that specifically celebrate the battle between light versus dark; good versus evil; and life versus death – the egg plays an important role as the powerful symbol of rebirth, resurrection, life, and fertility. Witnessing new life emerge from an eggshell was magical to our early ancestors.
Eggs play a really significant role in creation stories: Brahma, the Hindu creator god, sprang from a golden egg. Kronos, who is the Greek personification of time, brought forth an egg that the world’s creator emerged from. And in Australia, there’s an Aboriginal tribe that believes that they are descendants of the emu.
Eggs also play a role in stories of rebirth and resurrection. The Greeks and the Romans both place eggs or nests with eggs in them in tombs as a sign of life after death. Jewish mourners traditionally eat eggs after a funeral to signify loss, as well as the circle of life. And for Christians, decorated eggs symbolize Christ’s triumph over death by breaking through that sealed tomb.
Egg as Food Source
When you pause to think about it, avian eggs were pretty easy to find for our ancestors. There were nests in trees, bushes, shrubs, and even the ground. Humans have a long history of eating eggs laid by chickens, quail, pheasants, ducks, geese, turkeys, emu, and ostriches.
We discuss one of our most-enduring tiny dinosaurs – the chicken. There are several jungle fowls from Northeast India, Southwest China, and the Philippines that have contributed their DNA to the modern chicken, especially the Gallus or the Red Jungle fowl. Genomic mapping of the chicken in 2004 revealed two major genetic modifications over time that resulted in two major sub-breeds: layers, those that are really great at egg production, and broilers, those that tend to gather mass and be particularly delicious to eat.
Layers have a mutation to a thyroid stimulating hormone receptor gene that correlates reproduction with day length or light. They lay eggs faster, and they have less downtime between laying. The layer breeds include White Leghorn Hybrids, Plymouth, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Blue Andalusians, and Easter-eggers.
Some archeologists believe that chickens were first introduced to North America by Polynesians who reached the Pacific coast of South America, a century or so before the voyages of Columbus. So when Europeans came to North American shores, they actually found a land full of all kinds of fowl.
The Rise and Fall of Egg Production
We were surprised to find that eggs actually played a pretty minor role in the American diet and economy compared to cattle and hogs. Before the 1960s, most egg production came from farm flocks of less than 400 hens, each laying one egg per 24 to 26 hours.
By the early 1960s, particularly in the United States and North America, improved technology and mechanical equipment was responsible for a shift from smaller farm flocks to larger commercial operations with hundreds of thousands of hens laying eggs.
We then discuss per capita consumption and track how egg consumption in the United States nearly halved between 1945 and 1995 – largely in part to growing concerns about dietary cholesterol and heart disease.
Egg as Product and Progenitor of Corporate Espionage
Both Leigh and Kim remember the “Incredible Edible Egg” marketing campaign that started in 1976, a product of the American Egg Board, which included television and radio spots, advertorials and newspaper ads aimed at reversing the decline in per capita consumption. Outside the U S there are other egg organizations that promote eggs including Australian Eggs, the Egg Marketing Board in England, British Egg Industry Council and the National Egg Coordination Committee in India – which ran these very memorable ads in 1986:
It wasn’t all innocence though. In 2014, the American Egg Board and its affiliates waged a secret war against vegan mayonnaise. The AEB paid food bloggers to post articles, containing the group’s talking points regarding eggs and purchased keyword advertising on searches for vegan mayonnaise, the company that originated the product and its founder. These actions of the AEB triggered a federal investigation by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which found that the AEB quote “overstepped its congressional mandate.”
The American Egg Board is a longtime supporter of the White House’s Annual Easter Egg Roll and has presented the First Lady with a commemorative egg each year.
Have you participated in an egg roll, egg hunt or just dyed eggs? Share you experience with us, pretty please.
Join us next time for the first installment of What’s In Your Pantry. We’ll be talking about staples that we find on our pantry shelves.
The Glorious Egg Transcript
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Sources We Found Helpful for this Episode
Books We Think You’ll Enjoy Reading
Recipes You Really Need to Try
Omurice – My Korean Kitchen
Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs – Chez Us
Mirza Ahasemi – Family Spice
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