Farmers to give away 4lakh eggs

NAMAKKAL : With almost every occasion or cause having a special day, the egg also enjoys its very own platform for promotion with the World Egg Day celebrated on Friday, October 10.
And for residents of Namakkal, Tamil Nadu's egg production hub, it's an extra-special day, given the number of poultry farmers and others involved in the production and distribution chain in the district.
And what better way to celebrate the egg than distribute it free of cost! Yes, poultry farmers in the district plan to donate three to four lakh eggs on Friday.
"Our aim is to promote the egg and create awareness about its excellent health benefits," said Venkat Raja, associate manager of marketing communications, Kemin Industries, the sponsor of the event. The first World Egg Day was celebrated in 1996 in Vienna.
On Friday, Namakkal will celebrate the 19{+t}{+h} World Egg Day by not only creating awareness on its nutrient value, but also dismissing myths associated with the egg. "Eating an egg a day can actually lower the risk of heart disease, breast cancer and age-related illnesses such as cataracts and muscular degeneration," said Venkat Raja.
According to him, eggs are an excellent source of high quality protein, rich in amino acids, calcium, sodium, iodine, selenium, and vitamins A, B, D and E. "Vitamin A is essential for healthy cell development while vitamin B12 aids in the formation of red blood cells. Eggs also boost the immune system and to top it all it is affordable," said Venkat Raja.
"We have stocked plenty of eggs in our warehouse considering this event. We plan to distribute boiled eggs to the public the entire day," said M Ramasamy Gounder, a poultry farmer.
Awareness about the nutrient value of egg is almost negligent in India he said and hoped that celebrating the day by distributing free eggs would help promote it.
Poultry farmers in Erode district also plan to celebrate World Egg Day in a similar manner.