Fried eggs with jam: A short history of the USSR through its food

-- Eggs were one of the first foodstuffs to disappear at the beginning of the second world war, but the Soviet authorities were quick to find a solution, in the powdered eggs provided by the US under the 1942 lend-lease programme.

-- Initially people reacted to powdered eggs with caution, and the government responded by taking coordinated action. One after another, Soviet newspapers featured articles claiming that while powdered eggs contained almost every nutritional benefit known to mankind, regular eggs were filled with pathogens and fats that weakened the body.

-- In the mid-1950s fresh eggs began to re-emerge on grocery shelves. At first people were understandably doubtful, so the authorities immediately commanded the press to reverse their previous statements and a “new” idea came into vogue: fresh eggs are enormously healthy and nutritious.

This says so much about the power of the media.