On Eggs and Elephants
The Big Egg Hunt has begun! The search is on throughout central London for more than 200 eggs, in an effort to raise £2 million for Elephant Family and Action for Children, the two charities behind the event. While our missions may be quite different, the two charities have a very similar philosophy and approach. We have been brought together by eggs, which represent new life and hope for the future, themes that underlie our respective work. Beyond this though, is there any more direct link between eggs and elephants? The answer is yes, of course!
Firstly, anybody that happened to watch Attenborough and the Giant Egg, which was first broadcast almost a year ago, would know that the largest eggs to have ever been produced (naturally that is, as those in the Big Egg Hunt are much, much larger!) came from the now extinct elephant bird. This giant, flightless bird of Madagascar became extinct as a result of human activity, and therefore serves as a metaphor for what we must prevent happening to its mammalian namesake.
Secondly however, another link revealed itself following some recent news, which gives us hope of overcoming one of the greatest threats to Asian elephants.
For the first time this year, more free-range eggs will be sold in the UK than those from hens that are more intensively farmed and suffer a much poorer quality of life. This complete turnaround within the past couple of decades has been achieved thanks to the power of consumer choice. According to the RSPCA, consumers have been making more informed choices since it became compulsory eight years ago to label eggs with their method of production.
This success story provides hope for the Clear Labels, Not Forests campaign, of which Elephant Family is a coalition member. Last year this campaign had its first big success when the European Union adopted a new regulation that will require the labelling of specific vegetable oils in food products. This comes into force in 2015, by which time all food products containing palm oil – the unsustainable cultivation of which is destroying prime elephant habitat – will have to have it listed as an ingredient, rather than using the more generic “vegetable oil”.
While this may not seem like much in the first instance, as with eggs, it paves the way for consumers to drive a change in how foods are produced, away from using unsustainably farmed palm oil that causes deforestation, towards certified sustainable palm oil that does not pose a threat to elephants and the other animals that share their habitat. Encouraging retailers to use palm oil from sustainable sources is the next focus of the Clear Labels, Not Forests campaign. This is more likely to meet with success if there is sufficient pressure to do so from consumers making informed decisions. If we are as responsible about our consumption of palm oil as we are about eggs, then there is real hope that we can prevent Asian elephants going the way of the elephant bird.
Find out more about the Big Egg Hunt here.
written by Dan Bucknell on 21st February 12
