Vegans and eggs

[maggielassie]

What "proves" meat-eaters that the corpse they're eating is the one of an animal that lived a 'happy' life is beyond me. They know nothing about what happened to the animal. And it's highly unlikely that it was 'happy'. :(

[littlemiss]

I stumbled across this website yesterday. They sell rescue hen eggs. My personal objection to eggs is the unnatural treatment in this country and slaughter of unwanted male chicks, however this site claims not to do any of that and uses rescue hens, so claiming they are vegan friendly and that some vegans buy the eggs.

Just open for discussion. Don't go getting scary vegan on us though...
Ps sorry if the link doesn't work, I tried!

[Firestorm]

Personally I would still not touch them with a barge pole.
I appreciate that they are not being treated cruelly (allegedly), but I don't think we have any right to take eggs that belong to another animal, I also see eggs as still being animals (albeit undeveloped), and I dont like the idea of eating anything which comes out of another animals backside. :-)

[leedsveg]

I totally agree Firestorm. Don't see how the people who eat these, or any other eggs, can call themselves vegans. As far as I can understand, they are vegetarians.

Leedsveg

[missbettie]

I also see eggs as still being animals (albeit undeveloped), . :-)

Just out of curiosity, are you pro choice? Not that it really matters, eating eggs is still wrong to me, but this is something I have a really hard time explaining to non-vegans, the idea that eating non fertilized rescue eggs is wrong. I generally go down the path of, its just not right to take something that doesn't belong to us.

[CoolCat]

What happens if you don't take the eggs from chickens? If I understand birds right they will lay a full nest and start breeding. These eggs aren't fertile, so if I understand chickens right they end up eating them theirselfs.

So by taking the eggs away, wouldn't you prevent a full nest and thus putting a strain on the body of the chicken to keep producing eggs. By all means rescue chicken (as long as you don't buy them from batteries, because then you just create demand) but let them do their own thing. Feed them, love them, interact with them if they are up for it, but just let them be.

[missbettie]

good argument, I think i will start using that one. Thanks CoolCat. :) I've never really researched that before.

[Firestorm]

Very good point coolcat!


Just out of curiosity, are you pro choice?
I don't really know ( I have spent hours thinking about it but can never come to a conclusion) - its such a sensitive and difficult subject, I would rather not discuss it.

[missbettie]

ya, I kind of feel the same way...you're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't.

[CuddlyChicken]

.............

[missbettie]

but by definition if you eat eggs, regardless of where they came from, you wouldn't be Vegan.

[jackie]

^ what she said :-)

[littlemiss]

I agree its a difficult one to explain if the chickens just lay the egss anyway but in nature they lay far fewer eggs, and sometimes none, especially winter. I don't think its good idea to encourage eggs consumption, or we end up with industrialisation of animals all over again. I still feel this feeds the business that kills the male chicks far down the line.
I tried ackee last year which was supposed to taste eggy. It was disgusting so I think i've adjusted to no eggs.
I'm pleased the ex-batt's have somewhere nice to go.

[Crusty Rat]

Q) Vegan Friendly eggs?
A) Vegan's don't eat eggs.

I agree with the above that it's promoting eating eggs which is clearly a slippery slope. I don't have much experience with chickens but I've heard from friends that if you drop the eggs on the floor the chickens peck them right up, so I figure they'd enjoy them more than I would. Personally I'm not rushing to eat anything that came out a rescue bird's back end any quicker than I am to eat anything that came out the back end of my rescue rabbit.

[splodge]

The hens are rescue hens and the eggs are incidental but eating eggs would not have been possible without the death of some males, even if it was nothing to do with you. Vegans catergorically don't eat animal products.

Plus chickens have one hole for everything so the eggs come out of the same place as their shit. And it's basically a chickens period.

[Korn]

but by definition if you eat eggs, regardless of where they came from, you wouldn't be Vegan.
That's true - you wouldn't be a vegan if you ate eggs from any chicken... I've merged this thread with a couple of other threads about eggs - with many posts explaining why vegans don'teat eggs at all.

For other reasons (valid for non-vegans as well) to stop using eggs, look eg. here:
20-30 types of cancer and animal products (eggs, fish, milk, meat) (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?27770-20-30-types-of-cancer-and-animal-products-(eggs-fish-milk-meat))

ETA: More here (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?18759-Vegans-and-eggs-here-s-the-short-one-paragraph-version!&p=695116&viewfull=1#post695116).

[TheHRchannel]

Humans don't even need eggs. Plus, eggs have high cholesterol and fat causing some serious health problems.

[crisinic]

If there is a supply and demand of ANYTHING, as humans, greed sets in and we do all we can possible to exploit it to the max. Chickens are stuffed in a cage and don't leave their whole lives...there are thousands in a warehouse with no windows so you can't see this in action...you can't see the birds laying in their own shit with cuts and bruises and broken bones TRYING to get out. Some are put with other hens so at some point their beaks were burned off with no form anesthesia so they won't peck at each other. If you ask for organic, and if enough people demand it, someone will supply it. I can't make anyone change their lifestyle... but geeze would it hurt you to get something "better" and go to a local farmers market?