Public Health in the Year of the Rooster.

The Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health enters its 31st year in 2017, the year of the Fire Rooster. In the Chinese Zodiac Calendar, this is a year that is predicted to be a year of activity when “things will be achieved in an honorable way.” (The editors hope that the new president of the United States is a follower of Asian culture). Roosters wake early (a bit foreign to your editors) and are always active in a crowd, an apt description for public health workers. We don’t profess to be experts in astrology or the Zodiac Calendar (can anyone ever be?) but we do know something about how roosters and chickens have contributed both positively and negatively to public health. Nutrition is a core issue for public health and chickens have always played an important role in providing a high protein source for their human owners. They do this with a relatively low environmental footprint, although in recent years, the developments of intensive farming techniques have not been so environmentally friendly. Chickens are one of the most efficient ways of converting low-quality food unsuitable for human use into high-quality food, with food conversion ratios (FCR) as low as 1.6, if used for meat production. The FCR for actual meat instead of the whole chicken is closer to 3.1 If the conversion is for egg production, it is approximately 2. These ratios have halved in the past 2 to 3 decades due to improved breeding, production techniques, and the use of growth promotors (see below). The only other “food’ with a similar FCR are crickets, which are eaten in many parts of Asia, but only in limited quantities. One of the benefits of keeping poultry is for egg production, although the consumption of raw eggs is sometimes associated with salmonella infections.2 “Eggs are one of nature’s most nutritious and economical foods, but you must take special care when handling and preparing fresh eggs and egg products to avoid foodborne illness.”2 Poultry production has been a part of village life in most of the Asia Pacific region and they perform a very useful task of recycling waste and low-quality food into food for humans. Poultry production is actively promoted by public health workers as a useful addition to a predominantly vegetarian diet. Throughout history, chickens and eggs have symbolized birth and new life. The “right to life” is core business of public health. In the Asia Pacific region, in the past 50 years, spectacular progress has been made in ensuring the survival and health of children.3 The year of the rooster should encourage Schools of Public Health to expand their teaching and research in child survival to optimize health and development as well as survival.