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Would You eat Eggs If...


saydie
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You put this in the health section so do you mean to ask if they are nutritious? No, they really aren't necessary for good nutrition and are even kind of harmful.

 

Also they contribute to the mindset that animals are for food.

 

Now if I was starving and that's all there was to eat, then sure.

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I ask because someone on another site wrote about it and said that VEGAN can be defined in different ways, and that he would eat eggs himself if he raised hens, knowing they would be well treated. And that if VEGANS would be TRUE vegans, then they wouldn't be able to wear certain clothing, shoes, use plastics etc.... basically that it's tough to not have some sort of animal product in today's stuff....

....just a curious question

thanks for the replies

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Where would the hens come from? Rescue hens?

 

If the hens were anything other than rescue hens, then you have the whole messy issue of where the hens came from and whether their male siblings were killed as part of the whole egg-laying hen raising process.

 

But let's take the scenario that you took in some rescue hens and they wandered around and you fed them and they laid some eggs. At first it seems like whether you eat the eggs or leave them to rot would have no effect on the hens themselves, but it actually could somewhat change how you see them and then how you relate to them. It's possible that you could be on the lookout for any such changes and fight them, but I dunno. I say it's better not to eat them. There's no reason to, anyway. I mean, if the argument for it being ethically okay is that eggs are just waste products that are just being left there by the hens, that doesn't it make it sound very appealing to eat them, does it? My dog's poop could be described the same way and I surely would not eat that.

 

Regardless, even if one could make the argument that there are absolutely no ethical issues with eating the eggs of the rescue hens you took in, I still would not describe a person who ate them as vegan.

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That's a good question. I don't see anything ethically wrong with it. If the chickens are just let to roam around freely like in a permaculture setting or wild. And if the egg is just going to waste anyways and they don't eat it. Or fertilize it. I don't know anything about hen cultures and when to tell if an egg is fertilized. However if we are talking about wild eggs, then why limit it to hens. There are plenty of other birds out there. Just because the western culture has limited the foods to only a few animals. Chickens for eggs, cows for dairy etc.

 

It would be a lot more ethical then dairy because for that the animal has to become pregnant and the food is meant for it's baby.

 

I've seen chickens eat their own eggs, or rather they let their babies and young ones eat the eggs.

 

I'd still consider the person vegan because to me veganism is about cruelty free and non-exploitation, which the situation would be. Nothing living is getting hurt or abused or exploited, so it's still within the vegan ethics. Nutritionally it's not a vegan plant food, but ethically it could fit within the lifestyle and principles.

 

As far as nutrition goes, I guess they could provide some B-12 and DHA that is often lacking in plant food. I don't know what else. I haven't had an egg since well, 14yrs ago when I was a teenager. I don't know if I would have the appetite for them. But if they were just going to waste in that situation I would give them to somebody at least who would appreciate them, most likely my dogs!

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If they're rescued chickens, and there isn't a rooster among them, then I don't see it is a very immoral thing to do.

 

I agree with crash that it's still gross. The 'gross' aspect doesn't really enter into my day to day life, the reason I avoid animal products is a moral reason, and I used to eat them all the time. But now I look at them and they don't seem like food to me, and I'd rather not eat them no matter how they are produced.

 

Also from a practical point of view, I imagine I'd become physically ill if I ate eggs or milk now, it's been over 5 years, and I think maybe my digestive system would be shocked by them. That is definitely the case with meat, as I accidentally had animal fat when I was younger, and I got very sick from it. I am not sure about eggs and milk, but don't want to find out.

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I know that the folks at Farm Sanctuary have chickens (rescued) that lay eggs. They don't eat them themselves, because it does contribute to the idea that animals are meant to provide us food, but they boil them and feed them to some of the other animals.

 

I wouldn't, because they are no longer food to me. And what would I be doing with a chicken anyway?

 

Comparing this to using plastics that might have some animal product in along the way is really an invalid comparison. You would KNOW the egg is most obviously an animal product, and could choose to avoid it. With the plastic, if it's part of something like a medical device you need, for example, there is no way to know, and sometimes no choice.

 

And what other types of clothes besides leather, wool and silk (which I don't use) would one have to avoid?

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I personally feel that veganism is the practice of avoiding the consumption or use of animal/animal-derived products. Therefore, I think eating eggs, no matter how fairly the parents were raised, would violate that.

But if one was going to eat eggs, that's certainly the way to do it.

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That's a good question. I don't see anything ethically wrong with it. If the chickens are just let to roam around freely like in a permaculture setting or wild. And if the egg is just going to waste anyways and they don't eat it.

 

This argument gets used alot, especially by people who follow an omnivorous diet. My answer is simply that chickens, pigs, cows, etc. are bred for human consumption. No consumption, no need for breeding. Simple.

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If the chickens were being bred, I'd say no to eating the eggs, but if they aren't being bred, and the chickens are only in captivity for their own good, then eating the eggs is neither here nor there I think. It's not 'exploitation' because the eggs would rot anyway. It is exploitation if you keep breeding the chickens into captivity and taking the eggs, because then it's not for their own good that they're in captivity, it's for the human's pleasure which is wrong.

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IMHO it's neither here nor there that the chickens are being kept there for their safety -- you either consider eggs food or not. IMO just because you or the shelter is doing them a favor doesn't automatically mean you/ the shelter is entitled to take their goods. It's not the same as 2 people bartering, because how do you get the chicken's consent ?

 

Besides, could you guarantee that taking and eating their eggs would not continue or escalate to abuse of the cycle ?

 

If you were starving to the point of eating another person, then go for it, but other than that -- it's sustenance not food.

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That's a good question. I don't see anything ethically wrong with it. If the chickens are just let to roam around freely like in a permaculture setting or wild. And if the egg is just going to waste anyways and they don't eat it.

 

This argument gets used alot, especially by people who follow an omnivorous diet. My answer is simply that chickens, pigs, cows, etc. are bred for human consumption. No consumption, no need for breeding. Simple.

 

No, I don't believe in breeding. If you are breeding the chickens to have them provide eggs for you or buying the chickens. I was thinking more like rescued chickens or wild chickens or birds that happen to be on your land and roam around on their own, eating from your garden or whatever. Not to keep them captive for their eggs or anything.

 

I don't know if I view it as an explotation in that situation unless you are taking eggs that they want to keep themselves. Like if they want to eat them or do whatever with them. If it's waste, it's waste though.

 

Would the same view go towards not using the poop from the animals that are on your land for fuel like they do in India or for manure etc? I think it's more of a symbiotic relationship. The soil and earth and trees need the animals and us and it all goes in a cycle. I don't think we need eggs, but the other animals might want them, I certainly wouldn't throw them away or hide them from say my dogs or something.

 

Hey, it's really cool that there are so many ethical vegans here. I'm so tired of talking to health only vegan/vegetarians who are always just thinking about themselves so much.

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I've met some people that live out in the woods and have chickens that roam around their house. They feed the chickens and eat the unfertilized eggs that the chickens leave behind. It doesn't hurt the chickens, and I don't think those people are contributing to the cycle of animal exploitation or whatever people want to call it. ... Same thing with cow poop. It doesn't hurt the cows if someone with acreage lets cows roam around their property and then uses the manure as fertilizer. In fact I'm all in favor of using their poo as fertilizer because using locally "produced" cow doo-doo is a lot more evironmentally friendly than buying commercially manufactured fertilizer.

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Hey, it's really cool that there are so many ethical vegans here. I'm so tired of talking to health only vegan/vegetarians who are always just thinking about themselves so much.

No offense, but I don't care why people go vegan (and I don't think the animals do either). As long as people go vegan (even for their own reasons) I'm a happy camper.

I've met some people that live out in the woods and have chickens that roam around their house. They feed the chickens and eat the unfertilized eggs that the chickens leave behind. It doesn't hurt the chickens, and I don't think those people are contributing to the cycle of animal exploitation or whatever people want to call it. ... Same thing with cow poop. It doesn't hurt the cows if someone with acreage lets cows roam around their property and then uses the manure as fertilizer. In fact I'm all in favor of using their poo as fertilizer because using locally "produced" cow doo-doo is a lot more evironmentally friendly than buying commercially manufactured fertilizer.

I agree with the "poo" factor as its waste and the cow doesn't need it, but can the same thing be said about the eggs ?

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I agree with the "poo" factor as its waste and the cow doesn't need it, but can the same thing be said about the eggs ?

 

Yep, and same goes for ants, lizards, grasshoppers, etc. They have lots of nutrients in them and it would be more sustainable to eat local insects than to buy food shipped into the supermarket. But there's also a limit to what I'm willing to put in my mouth

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IMHO it's neither here nor there that the chickens are being kept there for their safety -- you either consider eggs food or not. IMO just because you or the shelter is doing them a favor doesn't automatically mean you/ the shelter is entitled to take their goods. It's not the same as 2 people bartering, because how do you get the chicken's consent ?

 

Besides, could you guarantee that taking and eating their eggs would not continue or escalate to abuse of the cycle ?

 

If you were starving to the point of eating another person, then go for it, but other than that -- it's sustenance not food.

 

I think that if you find a chicken somewhere and give it a home and then it lays an egg, taking and eating that egg is not a big deal. Yeah it's still stealing, but if you don't take it, I don't think the chicken does anything with it. I personally still would not eat the egg, because it is stealing, and because it isn't food to me. But on a scale of like 1 - 100 (100 being terrible, 1 being not terrible), taking that particular egg is like 2 and buying eggs from a farm is like 50.

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WOW!!!

 

I always thought vegans were against eating animals period!

 

 

According to the Vegan Society, veganism is a "philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose."

 

A lot of people interpret exactly what that means differently. If someone wanted to call me a near-vegan, or non-vegan, or anti-vegan, or whatever else for my views, that's fine too. The title doesn't mean that much to me other than being useful for finding other people with similar interests.

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WOW!!!

 

I always thought vegans were against eating animals period!

I am against eating animals and animal products. Personally for reasons already cited, I'm 99% certain I wouldn't do it, but if Max was with me -- I wouldn't let him starve. Let me stress in today's world we have access to pretty much any food we want, but I couldn't blame a starving person for eating an egg. Would I choose for them to do it ? No.

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No offense, but I don't care why people go vegan (and I don't think the animals do either). As long as people go vegan (even for their own reasons) I'm a happy camper.

 

Yes I'm glad the more people that go vegan period no matter what their reasons for it. But I was talking about actually having conversations with them. Just so many of them switch or would switch at the drop of a hat if someone gives a glowing testimonial about adding some animal products in their diet or some other reason why it is healthier for them or more "natural". I get bored when I get around people who talk, complain or obsess about themselves too much.

 

 

I agree with the "poo" factor as its waste and the cow doesn't need it, but can the same thing be said about the eggs ?

 

Sure, if they are not being fertilized, they are waste products. I guess much like woman's unfertilized egg and menses each month. There is a gross factor to it, but it's still all waste and the chicken doesn't need it.

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