Egg-protein in midday meals: Why less hypocrisy will serve both sides better

Eggs are back again on the national menu of heated public debates, this time because the new BJP government in West Bengal plans to give the job of providing mid-day meals to Akshaya Patra, an Iskcon affiliate, which does not serve eggs. This wasn’t the case when Mamata Banerjee was Chief Minister. The new BJP government wants to hand over the job to the Iskcon affiliate, which adopts dietary rules that are vegetarian and Vaishnavite. Akshaya Patra has a proven track record of providing clean and nutritious mid-day meals to millions of school children in various states, but it faces objections in some quarters because of its Hindu credentials.

The issue is more political than just about raising the protein content in a child’s diet. Protein can be given in multiple forms, including through the use of soya and paneer in the food prepared.

We need honesty in how we debate issues, but unfortunately this is lacking. People take hypocritical positions based on which political party or NGO they like or dislike, not genuine reasons. 

Let’s start with the obvious.

We don’t become egg- or meat-eating people because we look for high-protein diets. We become vegetarian or non-vegetarian in our eating habits because we were born into families eating only one kind of food or the other. Sometimes, we become non-vegetarians after experimenting with food that is to our liking, but most people don’t fall in this category, for their food habits are ingrained in them from childhood. Very few people cross the line between vegetarian and non-vegetarian purely for dietary reasons, unless this is what a particular person’s health needs dictate. 

Vegetarianism also comes in many forms: there are vegans (who eat no animal-based foods, including milk), there are lacto-vegetarians, who don’t mind milk preparations, which also come from animals. Then there are ovo-vegetarians, who don’t mind having egg-based foods, either directly or indirectly through cakes, et al. Then, in our culture, there are Jains and some small Hindu groups, who are not only vegetarians, but avoid vegetables (basically roots) grown under the ground. Then there are narrow non-vegetarians who only tend to eat fish and shrimp, mostly among coastal communities.

The problem arises not because of disagreements over adding more proteins to child diets, but because of parental objections to what meals their children should eat. Adults can make their own decisions on what to eat, but parental objections are important when it comes to deciding what children can or cannot eat. Like religion or culture, which is something one is born into and seldom chosen even in adulthood, vegetarianism or non-vegetarianism are part of inherited culture or habit.

So, the debate over whether or not to serve eggs is partly political, partly cultural.

But one part of the debate is certainly almost wholly political, and this is about the involvement of Akshaya Patra and Iskcon, which is a strictly vegetarian Vaishnavite sect. Contrary to common belief that most, if not all, Bengalis are non-vegetarian, with fish being a critical part of their diet, there is a parallel strain of vegetarianism among the followers of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a 15th century saint. He was the inspiration behind Srila Prabhupada, who started Iskcon. So, there are parallel dietary streams even in Bengal.

What’s political is the objection to involving Iskcon, which is widely seen as a Hindu organisation. It is a target for “secular” activists and minorities. The egg-and-protein argument is a good enough stick to beat a Hindu organisation with. 

The problem is once you use protein enhancement as your argument, why stop with eggs? Why not go the whole hog and say that fish and meat, including beef, should be part of everyone’s diet? Do we want to go there?

There can be sensible solutions that satisfy both the protein argument and the vegetarian one. 

Here is one. The purpose of schooling is to give students a sense of belonging and oneness, which is why we have school uniforms. Serving students different diets is like inculcating a sense of difference right at the start of their socialisation process. What if we were to serve all students the same nutritious vegetarian meal - so that all are treated equally - and additionally give each student Rs 5-7 a week, which their families could use to buy eggs for the child, if that is what they so desire, or another nutritious meal of their choice? A Sodexo type of card can be issued for buying any locally available protein-based food products, which could include fish or meat too for those who want it. 

There can be less divisive solutions if we want one.

(Fair disclosure: I am a lacto-vegetarian, and though I have tasted non-vegetarian food a long time ago, I have chosen to remain vegetarian. I don’t object to children being served eggs, provided their parents are okay with it.)