Feedstuffs in Focus

Eggs take top billing in new U.S. Dietary Guidelines

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Protein took the main stage in the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and we dig into why eggs rose to the top. With Emily Metz, President and CEO of the American Egg Board, we explore the real-food case for eggs: complete protein, nutrient density, affordability, and a versatility that works for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything between. We also clear the air on cholesterol with current science and discuss how consumer understanding has shifted from fear to trust.

The conversation turns to new brain health research, including studies indicating a relationship between eating two eggs a day and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s dementia. We talk about nutrients like choline and lutein, why this matters as populations age, and how simple, daily habits can support cognitive health. If you’re focused on satiety or navigating GLP1 medications, eggs offer a compact calorie-to-protein ratio that makes sticking to a higher-protein pattern easier and more satisfying.

From the industry side, we shares why the guidelines validate years of research support from egg farmers. We also look ahead to IPPE highlights, consumer education around all-day egg eating, and the role of U.S. egg products in promising export markets.

Enjoy the episode, share it with a friend who still thinks eggs are only for breakfast, and don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.

Protein Takes Center Stage

SPEAKER_01

In the just released 2025-2030 dietary guidelines for Americans, protein is front and center. Any guesses on which protein took the top billing in the new list of recommended foods? Well, that would be eggs. Welcome to Feedstuffs in Focus, our podcast where we take a look at the big issues affecting the livestock, poultry, grain, and animal feed industries. I'm your host, Sarah Muirhead. Joining us today to talk about the new dietary guidelines and the egg industry's ranking is Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board. Emily, the new dietary guidelines issued this week by the Trump administration put a put a spotlight on protein, and eggs came out in that top spot. Why are eggs so deserving of this top billing?

Clearing The Cholesterol Myth

SPEAKER_00

Well, Sarah, you know, I am biased and I fully admit that, but I think for eggs, you know, they have long been recognized as the perfect protein, um, you know, a protein in in a shell, uh perfect protein in a shell. And I think that um was recognized by the Trump administration this week for a variety of reasons. Number one, you know, they're hugely focusing on real food, which you saw come across. And there's no more real food than the incredible egg. Number two, they're an amazing source of protein, which we've long been talking about. Number three, they were just announced last year as healthy. They were one of two foods that were automatically qualified as healthy right out the gate. And so I think that certainly played into it. And then I think the fourth reason is really there was a recognition that across all life stages, uh, including eggs in your diet is incredibly important. And so I think all of those things together really gave us that top billing. And um, you know, we're very excited that there's this continued drumbeat about how perfect eggs are and how important they are in your diet at all life stages.

SPEAKER_01

Now I know the egg industry has always kind of fought the battle about cholesterol. Are we are we over that or where are we at in that?

SPEAKER_00

I think we're, you know, we're always going to have to continue to remind people that eggs have no impact, the consumption of eggs have no impact on dietary cholesterol. But I truly feel, and and our our proprietary research at the American Egg Board confirms that people now understand that that kind of 80s time magazine headline no longer applies. You know, I think people now see that eggs are part of a heart healthy diet. Even the American Heart Association says so. Um, eggs do not have uh effect on dietary cholesterol, as I said. And so we're starting to see that now permeate through the consumer groups at all ages. Like we never saw that from our from our research be a huge issue with younger age groups, you know, primarily Gen Z and below. But, you know, the one time millennials listened to their parents, it was about this, you know, black helicopter story on cholesterol. And so we had some work to do to correct that. And we worked with health professionals, with doctors to kind of re, you know, reintroduce them to the current modern sound science about cholesterol, about eggs. And we've made a huge impact over the last few years of doing that, such that we're moving on to talk about the attributes and the benefits of egg consumption, and we're no longer going to focus on correcting that misinformation on cholesterol from a marketing standpoint.

Eggs And Alzheimer’s Risk

SPEAKER_01

I understand there's some new research out there showing that there may be a relationship between egg consumption and a lower risk of Alzheimer's dementia. Talk to us about that.

SPEAKER_00

This was absolutely huge news. This was a study that was funded by the Egg Nutrition Center. We're really proud of that, and a series of ancillary studies that have all confirmed that two eggs a day can have a huge impact on your risk of all developing Alzheimer's later in life. Um, that, as you as you probably saw, that story got massive attention. And I think especially as we see, you know, significant um portions of the population around the world age into the into the age group where they're at risk for Alzheimer's. That news is massive, not only for us here in the United States, but for populations around the world. You look at Japan, where more than 40% of their population is over the age of 50. You know, that is a massive, massive uh bit of news for those types of for those populations that are facing Alzheimer's, and they can do what do a little thing, which is eat two eggs a day. I mean, that's huge.

Industry Role In Guidelines

SPEAKER_01

I think we're good then, right? Because I know I eat two eggs a day. I'm sure you do too, at least. Move on. Move on. So now let's go back to the dietary guidelines. How um how involved was the egg industry in in telling the story of eggs nutritional value when they were looking to update these new dietary guidelines? Is that something you've been actively involved in, or how did that all play out?

What Guidelines Mean For Producers

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, directly, no. Indirectly, you know, of course, we support a lot of the foundational science that we, you know, we was no doubt considered when making these um determinations, when the Trump administration made these determinations. You know, it is no secret that egg farmers have long believed in investing in scientific research on a variety of topics, including nutrition, to try to understand, you know, just how important eggs are into the diet. We just talked about the Alzheimer's study. That was a study, you know, funded by egg farmers that we're obviously incredibly proud of and incredibly proud of the other studies that follow on from that as confirmation of that of that research. Um, so all of those studies no doubt played into the body of research that you know the Trump administration, both at FDA and USDA and others reviewed in developing these guidelines, but in in direct matter, we were not, you know, we we did not have the the phone into them on this. So we're we're incredibly proud that all of that science shone through and that the guidelines ended up where they did with eggs in kind of that top spot.

SPEAKER_01

So, what do the new guidelines mean for US egg producers?

Beyond Breakfast: Everyday Eggs

SPEAKER_00

Well, I think it means, you know, number one, it's a confirmation of what egg farmers have long known. So I think it's always nice to get confirmation and and continued affirmation. I think for um our farmers when it comes to their investment in us as a marketing and demand-building organization, you know, this is just another opportunity to talk about eggs, um, to continue to reintroduce uh eggs to consumers in new and exciting ways. You know, we have a big challenge there, and you and I have talked about this before getting consumers to think about eggs as a snack, as a lunch, as a dinner. Um, those are things that we still have work to do in the US in particular. You look at around the world, Europe, Asia, other parts of the globe. They eat eggs throughout the day. You know, we have to continue to remind consumers that you can eat eggs for more than just breakfast. And in fact, you should, according to these new dietary guidelines. You should be picking up a hard-boiled egg as a healthy real food snack. You should be, you know, having an omel for dinner packed with, you know, meat and veggies and whole milk, uh, dairy cheese, and having that as part of your healthy dinner. There's a lot of ways that we can reintroduce and continue to remind consumers about eggs, not just from a nutritional standpoint, but just from a satiation uh and new and deliciousness standpoint as well.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and I think you're probably seeing a lot more acceptance of eggs across the board when we get the GLP one and some of these other products that really push those that protein in the diet. And that's a handy little packet just to get that protein when you need it.

GLP1, Protein, And Research

SPEAKER_00

It is, it's the it's nature's, you know, most original packaging. You no packaging required, no ziploc baggy. You know, you throw your hard-boiled egg in the shell, you know, in your lunchbox with you, and you're good to go. Um, and so that there is a lot of truth to that, Sarah. And I think GLP1 is is our newest area of research. You know, that's something we're focusing on this year. We kind of are announcing our research agenda over the next couple of weeks. And GLP1 will be one thing we're looking at because we know that consumers who are on those medications have a real emphasis and even greater emphasis on protein. And there is no better protein, there is no more perfect protein than than the incredible egg. So that is gonna play into how we're trying to connect with consumers um this year and beyond for sure.

IPPE Priorities And Biosecurity

SPEAKER_01

Talk about the next couple of weeks. We'll be seeing you probably at IPPE in Atlanta. What are some of the things that AEB will be uh kind of highlighting and focusing on?

Innovation And Convenience

Rebuilding Supply And Exports

SPEAKER_00

You know, there's gonna be a couple of things. You know, the first one is you know, bird flu is never far from our minds, and we're doing a lot of uh work as an industry to kind of pull together and figure out how we tackle this, of course, working in partnership with USDA and with the Trump administration and our friends at UEP at United Egg Producers, but we're also looking at how can we continue to work with producers, further improve biosecurity? Is there absolutely anything we can do to make sure that, you know, hopefully we keep bird flu at bay like we have the past few months? I think the second thing we're really going to be emphasizing is just innovation. You know, we're continuing this drumbeat of both menu innovation, menu ideation, as well as um, you know, innovation in the consumer package goods space and looking at how can we make eggs even more convenient? You know, as we talk about real food, real protein, how can we, you know, tackle that convenience issue that sometimes people have with eggs? You know, they're like, well, I have to cook it, I have to boil water, I have to take out my frying pan, I have to do XYZ. How do we continue to tackle that battle for consumers and make eggs even more convenient for them? And then the third thing, Sarah, is as our supply continues to rebound after the devastating bird flu of last year, you know, how do we open up markets overseas? And so we have a huge focus this year on international market development, especially when it comes to egg products. Um, USDA just announced their trade missions for this year. They're gonna go to a number of countries that are really promising for egg U.S. egg products. And so we'll be going on those missions and really looking to engage in market development activities in those key export markets.

Closing And Subscribe

SPEAKER_01

Very good. Well, we look forward to hearing more about all of that and uh appreciate your time here today, Emily. Thanks, Sarah, so much. Our thanks to Emily Metz of the American Egg Board for being with us today. I'm Sarah Muirhead, and you've been listening to Feedstuffs in Focus. If you would like to hear more conversations on some of the big issues affecting the livestock, poultry, grain, and animal feed industries, subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast channel. Until next time, have a great day and thank you for listening.