Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
Livestock and human nutrition
Lora L. Iannotti
Expert panel: Sustainable solutions for the livestock sector: The time is ripe!
10th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture, Berlin, 19 January 2018

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
1) Globally, 156 million young children have stunted growth and development.
Animal source foods (ASF) can play a crucial role in meeting the World Health Assembly
nutrition target (2025) to reduce stunting by 40%.
2) Biological and evolutionary rationale underpin the need for ASF in human nutrition.
ASF provide limiting nutrients (vitamins A, B12, choline, iron, zinc) in highly bioavailable
matrices enabling more efficient absorption and metabolism in human nutrition.
3) Eggs and animal milk, among nature’s first foods, may provide a sustainable
solution for confronting critical nutrient deficiencies.
Strong evidence is emerging for egg nutrition in stunting reduction and biomarkers of brain
development.
Key messages

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
Undernutrition in first 1,000 days…
• Undernutrition in young children < 5 yrs
– 156 million stunted (22.9%)
– 50 million wasted (8%)
• Hidden hunger – particular nutrient deficiencies
– 33% children vitamin A deficient
– 42.6% children and 29.4% women anemic
– 17.3% world zinc deficient; 28% world iodine deficient
3.1 million (45%) of deaths to children <5 yr

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
… the next 3,000 days
• Brain development: prefrontal cortex for
higher cognitive functions; synaptogenesis
and pruning; and neurogenesis in
hippocampus
• Micronutrient deficiencies: 20-30% of
school-aged children have deficiencies in iron,
iodine, zinc, and vitamin A
• School feeding programs: largest
investment in public food programs globally
– Potential for local livestock development &
nutrition impacts

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
Food matrices: the importance of packaging
Limiting nutrient
Vit A →
Iron →
Zinc →
Choline →
ASF vs. plant
absorption rate
12-24x (ug)
2x (mg)
2x (mg)
?
ASF matrix

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
Evolutionary basis for ASF: anthropology of anthropometry
• Hominid diet included more ASF
– Shore-based paradigm - freshwater fish, crustaceans,
shellfish, amphibians, spawning fish, sea bird nestlings/eggs,
and plants
– Homo erectus (2.6 mya) - differed from Australopithecus garhi
& Homo habilis; bigger brain & body. “Meat made us human”
• Genome-nutrition divergence
– Discordance theory - human genome evolved to adapt to
conditions that no longer exist
– Agriculture (10,000 ya) & Industrial Revolution (200 ya)
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Gallinule/id
http://www.writeopinions.com/evolution

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
Nature’s First Nutrients
Seeds, Eggs, Milk
• Designed to sustain and support early life, entirely
• Complete set of nutrients and other bioactive factors
• Economically affordable and renewable

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
Eggs: provides >50% of nutrients (++); 20-50% (+) for breastfed infants 7-12 mo
Iannotti et al. Nutrition Reviews 2014

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
LULUN PROJECT – ECUADOR
G. Reinhart photo

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
Lulun Project
• RCT
– Cotopaxi: mixed indigenous, high baseline stunting
– Intervention: 1 egg/day for 6 mo, eggs purchased locally
– Longitudinal follow-up: baseline (6-9 mo), endline (12-15 mo)
– Social marketing: ownership, participation, compliance
• Mixed methods
– Quantitative: caregiver surveys, anthropometry, GPS
– Biomarkers: LC/MS/MS at Wash U, ELISA at NETLAB
– Qualitative: grounded theory, structured observations, focus groups,
and in-depth interviews

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
Egg increased linear growth by 0.63 LAZ, reduced stunting 47%
Control group
0
.1
.2
.3
.4
.5
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2-6
Length-for-age Z score (LAZ)
Egg group
0
.1
.2
.3
.4
.5
Kernaldensityestimate
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2
Length-for-age Z score (LAZ)
(Iannotti et al. Pediatrics 2017)baseline (dashed); endline (solid)

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
• Choline → 0.35 (95% CI: 0.12, 0.57)
– cell membrane (phosphatidylcholine); neurotransmission (acetylcholine);
memory & learning (hippocampus); gene expression (betaine to
methionine)
• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) → 0.43 (95%CI: 0.13, 0.73)
– predominant n-3 fatty acid in the brain
– neurogenesis, neurotransmission, myelination, synaptic plasticity
• Methionine, betaine, TMAO, DMA, histidine, aspartic acid
– microbiome effects
Egg increased biomarkers of brain development and growth

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
ASF Research – next steps
• East Africa
– Milk nutrition in Samburu pastoralists
– Fish nutrition in Sustainable Aquaculture and
Fisheries Zones
• Ecuador Lulun Project
– Sustainability and scalability of egg nutrition:
poultry production; household economics;
environment
• Malawi Mazira Study
– Replication study: egg effects on growth, biomarkers,
and child development

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
Global Nutrition Targets 2025 – ASF Contribution
1) Stunting →
2) Anemia →
3) Low birthweight→

Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
1) Globally, 156 million young children have stunted growth and development.
Animal source foods (ASF) can play a crucial role in meeting the World Health Assembly
nutrition target (2025) to reduce stunting by 40%.
2) Biological and evolutionary rationale underpin the need for ASF in human nutrition.
ASF provide limiting nutrients (vitamins A, B12, choline, iron, zinc) in highly bioavailable
matrices enabling more efficient absorption and metabolism in human nutrition.
3) Eggs and animal milk, among nature’s first foods, may provide a sustainable
solution for confronting critical nutrient deficiencies.
Strong evidence is emerging for egg nutrition in stunting reduction and biomarkers of brain
development.
Key messages