Symbolic analysis:

The symbolic analysis for the food I remember as a child, and throughout my life is the egg.  Growing up, eggs were nostalgic and a staple food in our kitchen. Eggs were used and cooked in all sorts of ways, and especially when there was nothing else to eat. I connect to eggs as far as I can remember. First, in kindergarten, my mother would send me to school with egg sandwiches for lunch. I was embarrassed at the time because other classmates were able to bring bologna sandwiches, pressed ham, and other meats we could rarely afford. I was embarrassed because we were poor and didn’t have much to eat sometimes. By time I reached high school age, I used to cook myself an egg sandwich in the mornings for breakfast. Since that time, I have learned to appreciate eggs and now understand why my mom kept eggs in the house when the refrigerator was practically bare. She must have had knowledge of it’s nutritional value.

Eggs Background

According to East Indian history, wild fowl were domesticated in 3200 B.C.  For the Egyptians and other Chinese, the records show fowl were laying eggs as early as 1400 B.C. and 600 B.C. When eggs arrived in America, there were over 200 different breeds of chickens. In addition, U.S. hens usually are the Single-Comb White Leghorns. During the 1900-1920’s, people produced eggs mostly in their backyards, and those eggs were supplied to family members. Extra eggs were sold to Farmer’s Markets. Hens were laying approximately 150 eggs per year, with a 40% mortality rate.

In today’s economy, over 300 million laying birds produce 250 to 300 eggs a year each. The total U.S. egg production has grown to over 75 billion eggs a year.

Nutritional analysis:

Eggs are one of the most nutritionist foods their are. For example, one egg has six grams of protein, and the egg yolk itself has a high nutrient density. Did you know that egg yolk contains choline which promotes normal cell activity, liver function and helps to transport nutrients throughout the entire body? Eggs has 70 calories, no carbohydrates, and contains no sugar. The egg shell has 7 to 17 tiny pores on the shell surface, and eggs have all 9 essential amino acids. In fact, one large egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals.

Most of the vitamins and minerals are in the egg yolk, so when you throw out the yolk you throughout 40% of vitamins and minerals. The white of an egg has 60% of the eggs protein. Are eggs bad for you? If you suffer from allergies, eggs can cause allergic reactions, and eggs (specifically the yolk) is not recommended for those with high cholesterol.

Political-Economic analysis:

In the political-economic arena, legislation has recently been passed in the U.S. requiring egg farms to go cage free. Cage free systems are defined as systems were hens that are kept indoors must be able to roam free in an open area. Cage free systems usually have hens roam inside a building, a barn or poultry house.

U.S policies requires that facilities in most states comply by changing over to cage free systems. Farmers are expected to change over to cage-free facilities to stay in compliance with the law. Rose Acre Farms is one of the largest egg producers who recently changed to a cage free facility.  bMore hens die from injury in fling, and having more direct interaction with other hens in cage free systems.