Speakers at a discussion yesterday made a call to have two eggs a day in order to meet the demand for animal protein.
They said eating two eggs every day is a cheap source for the animal protein requirement of the body and also urged the government to announce tax exemptions for the poultry industry.
The discussion, which was arranged by Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee at the National Press Club marking the World Egg Day 2015, was moderated by Dr Nitish Chandra Debnath, national consultant of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
The committee’s convener Moshiur Rahman said around 20 million eggs are produced in the country every day and 95% are produced commercially.
He said the daily demand for egg would rise to some 400-450 millions by 2021. “Around 59% of the global egg production this year will be in Asia.”
Professor Dr Md Billal Alam, principal and head of medicine at Sir Salimullah Medical College, said many misconceptions about egg still exist in our society. “Many think that eating egg increases cholesterol and thus increases the risk of heart attack. This is not true.”
“It is true that eggs have cholesterol but it is not harmful. Rather, it is beneficial to health. Modern science says that the risk of type 2 diabetes can be reduced by 37% if a person eats a minimum of four eggs a week,” said Md Mofazzal Hossain, dean of the faculty of animal science and veterinary medicine at Sher-E-Bangla Agricultural University.
Apart from Dhaka, Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee organised rallies and seminars in several other districts.
