A study commissioned by the Karnataka government has shown that the inclusion of eggs in the mid-day meal scheme in seven districts of the state, has improved the nutrition levels of students involved in the pilot project. Introducing eggs in mid-day meals in one of Karnataka's most malnourished regions became a topic of controversy, when it was mooted by the state government last year. It was opposed by Hindu religious leaders who said that it would influence the ‘food culture’ of the state. The reactions followed a controversy in 2019, when the Akshaya Patra Foundation which serves mid-day meals in some schools, was criticised for refusing to serve onion, garlic and eggs in its meals.
The Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University in Gadag conducted the study, after the state government decided to introduce eggs as an option in mid-day meals in seven districts in the northern part of the state in a bid to tackle rising malnutrition levels.
Carried out over 100 days towards the end of the previous academic year, the study involved students from Yadgir, where the initiative was taken up, and Gadag, where students were not given the option to eat eggs. The findings of the study, now made public, showed a positive improvement in the nutrition levels, as well as the weight and body mass index (BMI) of the students from Yadgir district.
The state government is planning to extend the initiative of providing eggs in mid-day meals to all districts of the state, after a cabinet note was sent by the Department of Public Instruction. This is after the state government was encouraged by the findings of the study comparing the nutrition levels in students in Yadgir and Gadag. The proposal, which was cleared by the state Finance Department, is now awaiting cabinet clearance.
Among the 4,500 students from Classes 1 to 8 in the two districts, it was found that only 4.5% of the girls and 4.1% of the boys in Yadgir district abstained from eating eggs and opted to eat bananas.
"Many of the students in our school are from Scheduled Caste (SC) communities and their parents are mostly engaged in daily wage work. There was no opposition to including eggs in the mid-day meal scheme, except from a handful of students from the Lingayat community," says Shantamma Mallikarjuna, the principal of a government school in Yadgir. In her school, 71 of the 76 students opted to eat eggs, while five others opted to eat the banana.
Around 40% of the students ate eggs on more than 80% of the days it was provided, while 44% of the students ate eggs on 50-80% of the days it was provided. "Overall consumption of eggs by around 83% of students for at least 50% of the days of provision, showed a better effect on the growth and nutrition of the children in Yadgir, when compared to Gadag students," the study said.
It also found an increase in the mean weight and body mass index (BMI) of students from Yadgir district. "Both boys and girls of Yadgir district had better mean weight gain in all classes except Class 5 where it was almost the same," read the study. The BMI is a measure that uses your height and weight to work out if your weight is healthy.
The findings contradict the state government's own submissions to the Union government in one of the position papers, with suggestions for the Union government over the implementation of the NEP. The paper, which was criticised for propagating right-wing material suggested that eating eggs and meat lead to lifestyle disorders. “Given the small body frame of Indians, any extra energy provided through cholesterol by regular consumption of egg and meat leads to lifestyle disorders. Lifestyle disorders like diabetes, early menarche, primary infertility in India are escalating and studies conducted across the countries suggest that animal-based foods interfere with hormonal functions in humans. The gene-diet interactions indicate what is best for Indian ethnicity and the natural choice of the race needs to be considered," the position paper stated.
It also added that “eggs, flavoured milk, biscuits, should be forbidden to prevent obesity and hormonal imbalance” in children, and that “serving other recipes or foods to the same graders, such as egg versus grams, or egg versus banana, leads to a nutritional imbalance among children”.
In October 2021, when the state government announced the supply of eggs in mid-day meals for schools in seven districts, the move was welcomed by parents and teachers and civil society in large. The seven districts where the eggs were supplied to were Bidar, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Koppal, Vijayapura and Ballari (including the newly carved district of Vijayanagara), identified as some of the most backward districts of the state.
The introduction of eggs was supposed to combat the dual problem of malnutrition as well as poor attendance in schools. However, some religious mutts had objected to the move, but it was set aside, as support for the initiative came from several quarters. In a viral video, a school girl from Gangavathi of Koppal district questioned the seers who they were to challenge what the girl ate. “Who are you to tell? Haven't we eaten eggs, taken a bath and prayed to you? Haven't we donated to your mutt? In that case why do you eat with our money? Throw away that money. Or give us that money, we will eat,” the girl said.