Do eggs come from sheep?

A survey has shown that some young children think sheep lay eggs.

Researchers in south-west England asked over 1,100 children between 6 and 8 years old about where foods come from. Some of the children thought that:

• Beefburgers come from pigs
• Bacon comes from horses
• Ice cream is made from fish

Other findings suggested that a few children may not have been taking it seriously. They said that yoghurts come from turkeys, crisps are made out of plastic and cheese is made by butterflies.

Vegetables

The survey wasn’t all bad news. The children could name vegetables reliably: 98% recognised carrots and sweetcorn. The lowest result was 44% for swedes.

Gardening

The survey was taken to draw attention to a new scheme called Dig Down South West. The scheme aims to encourage children in the south west of England to grow their own vegetables.

Related Links

• Junk food diets learnt in womb?
• Should adverts for junk food be limited?
• Top 4 Weird Food Inventions
• Dig Down South West
• Read the full report here

Your Shout!

What do you think of this survey? Should children be taught more about food? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.