ABOVE: Michelle Landry, Minister Julie Collins and EFA CEO Melinda Hashimoto.
Australian egg farmers celebrated World Egg Day at Parliament House in Canberra in October, with a breakfast event for members of Parliament and senators.
Egg Farmers of Australia was able to highlight the message that eggs are among the most environmentally sustainable and affordable sources of protein for Aussie families during the cost-of-living crisis.
A select number of MPs and senators attended the breakfast on October 9, which was addressed by Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins.
This year has proven to be a challenging year for the egg sector, but Aussie egg farmers are resilient.
We have seen challenging economic times, rising interest rates, bad weather and outbreaks of devastating avian influenza in some states.
These factors put pressure on producers.
Despite these setbacks, consumer confidence in Australian egg production and consumer demand for eggs continues to grow.
Australia’s commercial farmers produce about 6.3 billion eggs a year to satisfy the nation’s growing appetite for eggs, most of which come from family-run farms.
World Egg Day itself fell on Friday October 11, with this year’s theme being ‘United by Eggs’, which highlights how the humble egg can connect and unify people from all corners of the globe.
Every culture has an egg dish that is a star of any family or community celebration.
Plus, many people may not realise that eggs have one of the lowest carbon footprints of any protein we eat.
In Australia, egg farmers continue to lead the way in implementing many new technologies that will further reduce their agricultural carbon footprint and benefit the planet.
Queensland remains Australia’s largest egg producing state, with 35 percent of the nation’s commercial laying flock, followed by NSW at 30 percent and Victoria at 19 percent.