Speakers at a discussion with mass media managers in the capital opined that media had a crucial role to play in informing the general people about the importance of protein consumption.
The Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council (BPICC), with support from the US Soybean Export Council (USSEC), organized the colloquium at a hotel in Dhaka.
Media gatekeepers agreed with poultry industry leaders that the role of media in promoting animal protein is vital for building a healthy nation.
They said the media and industry relationship should be strengthened and information should be made more available.
Media representatives said that the industry should have long-term planning to feed the nation.
They said eggs and meat should be affordable for all and as the sector has created huge employment and empowered rural women, the government should come forward to support this industry.
Dr Khaleda Islam, professor of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Dhaka, presented a keynote paper.
She said: “Although every adult needs one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight, most Bangladeshis consume less than the standard. People suffer from different diseases due to protein deficiencies.”
She explained that animal protein is better than plant sources.
“There are various myths and misconceptions about poultry egg and broiler meat which is an obstacle to increase animal protein intake.”
The nutrition expert said that the cholesterol in eggs was not harmful to the human body.
The Editor of DBC News, Pronab Saha, said: “There is propaganda against the poultry industry and sometimes the doctors also provide misleading information about eggs.”
Pronab claimed that there is a difference between the government’s data regarding egg and meat production with the actual figures.
Saiful Alam, editor of the Daily Jugantor said that awareness has been created in city areas but the rural areas still lack accurate information.
According to Ihtesham B. Shahjahan, president of Feed Industries Association (FIAB), the poultry, dairy and fisheries industries have been moving forward, meeting the local demand and in some cases also earning foreign currency through export.
“We should not export soybean meal as we are meeting only 75-80% of the local demand,” said Md Ahsanuzzaman, secretary at FIAB.
He added: “We should rather concentrate on exporting value-added products instead.”
Meanwhile, the local soybean meal producers gained from this export decision as they increased the price, threatening the poultry feed industry.
“The production of egg and chicken has decreased due to the pandemic as production costs hiked due to rise in the cost of raw materials in the international market,” said Moshiur Rahman, president, BPICC.
