On Eggs and Mortality

There’s a new statistic that might be of use for your vegan education arsenal in "Seven or More Eggs a Week Raises Risk of Death." The most uncreative title leaves little to the imagination, I admit, but it’s also ironically misleading because the statistic is applicable in one case–the case of middle-aged male physicians with diabetes. It almost sounds like the punchline of a joke.

I’d use this stat with caution. "Mortality" isn’t like saying risk of obesity or higher cholesterol increases. It bypasses all of that and says you have a higher chance of dying. That might be worth talking about, depending on the audience.

The problem here is that seven was the magic number, which does all but give you permission to eat six eggs a week. Be warned that if you use this stat, the person you’re speaking with could say that he’ll lower his egg consumption to six per week and technically that should make you happy; it eliminates his risk of dying.

That’s the problem with health arguments a lot of the time. With just one phrase: "Everything in moderation," you’re stuck. The everything-in-moderation folks can be the most difficult to deal with because they really should be called Team Have My Cake and Eat it Too. They tend to be very attached to what they want to do and eat and are champions of rationalization. The idea of poisoning themselves in moderation doesn’t deter them.

Not at all surprisingly, "The American Egg Board Doesn’t Like That Studying Linking Eggs and Death" (yes, that is the real title, and I’m assuming that studying is supposed to be study). I couldn’t help notice the use of "enjoy" referred to in that blog post:

" . . . healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their risk of heart disease."
"Healthy adults should continue to enjoy eggs to increase their intake of a number of beneficial nutrients."

Clearly, the end users of eggs are risking their health with their egg consumption. Funny thing, as the production end of the spectrum isn’t pretty either. When you think about the realities of the production and consumption of eggs, "enjoy" is not an appropriate word.