American Egg Board on the offensive

US egg producers are investing about $4m (£2.6m) over a two year period in a marketing scheme to help counter the poor image of their sector.

Addressing this week’s International Egg Commission conference in Paris, Kevin Burkum of the American Egg Board said a recent survey had revealed that only 34% of US citizens believed that producers cared about their birds, while just 32% thought they were honest about their practices.

“This compared with another survey which showed that US citizens were very positive about farmers in general,” he said. “We were somewhat shocked and it was clear our critics had been dominating the conversation.”

In response, the American Egg Board had launched the Good Egg Project, which aimed to educate consumers about the high standards found on US poultry farms, the role producers play in feeding America’s poor and the health benefits of eggs in the diet.

The project included a tie up with children’s programme Sesame Street, national TV and radio advertising, a dedicated website and on-line promotion via Twitter and Facebook.

“Getting involved in social media has been a steep learning curve for us, but it’s well worth the effort.”

Mr Burkum explained that the animal welfare lobby groups had tried to undermine the project. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) had arranged for 50,000 letters to be sent to Sesame Street demanding the programme break its links with the Good Egg Project, but this had been rejected.

Meanwhile, some of the country’s leading food bloggers had been taken onto intensive egg farms to see the whole production process in full – with generally positive results.

The Good Egg Project had also trained 25 poultry farmers to go out into their communities and explain the facts behind egg production. “I’d encourage everyone to adopt this tactic,” said Mr Burkum.

• For more on the IEC Paris conference, see Phil Clarke’s Business Blog