Why Egypt is asking its people to eat chicken feet
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Loading... - Angela Auge
- 23 Jan 2023
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Egypt’s economic situation is so dire that the government is asking people to eat chicken feet.
The Arab world’s most populous nation is suffering a record currency crisis and the worst inflation in five years, making food so expensive that many Egyptians can no longer afford chicken, a dietary staple.
Poultry prices rose from 30 Egyptian pounds (then $1.9) per kilogram in 2021 to as much as 70 Egyptian pounds ($2.36) as of Monday, according to state media.
The soaring cost has prompted the nation’s National Institution for Nutrition to call on people to switch to eating chicken feet.
“Are you looking for protein-rich food alternatives that will save your budget?” it asked in a Facebook post last month, listing a number of items starting with chicken feet and cattle hooves.
Many Egyptians are furious that the government would ask citizens to resort to foods that are symbols of extreme poverty in the country. In Egypt, chicken feet are seen as the cheapest of meat items, considered by most as animal waste rather than food.
“(We have entered) the age of chicken feet, the collapse of the Egyptian pound… and drowning in debt,” tweeted Mohamed Al-Hashimi, a media personality, to his 400,000 followers.
But others seem to be heeding the call. After the recommendation to switch to chicken feet, the price of one kilogram of the product reportedly doubled to 20 Egyptian pounds ($0.67).
Authorities say that close to 30% of Egypt’s population is below the poverty line. The World Bank in 2019 however estimated that “some 60% of Egypt’s population is either poor or vulnerable.” Read More…
