Okay, a question for vegetarians?

Question

Okay, I know vegetarians can't include any animal flesh into their diet, but eggs are an embryo, and when it's cooked, they're eating part of an animal right? It isn't a plant for sure... Just wondering about why some people claim to be vegetarian, but turn around and eat something that came out of a hen.

I'm not trying to sound mean, but I just want to know.

Answer 1

An egg is not an embryo. An embryo is something that is fertilized and in the process of growing to be hatched/born.
Chickens lay eggs anyway, regardless of us. It's like the female ovulation cycle. Every female loses an egg once a month, does that mean we're taking a life? No.
It's not a living thing. Therefore, we're not killing anything when we eat eggs.
I know some vegetarians who claim to BE vegetarians, yet they eat fish, claiming it's really not an animal and doesn't apply. I see it differently. Some vegetarians DON'T eat eggs. So it all depends on the person.

Answer 2

As others have said, most supermarket eggs are unfertilized as there are no roosters around. Sadly though, many hens are caged in small cages (so there is no way a rooster could ever get near them). Even 'cage free' and 'free range' hens are kept in deplorable conditions. Even if the hens were raised humanely (which is EXTREMELY rare), half of the chicks born are male and they are tossed aside and killed after they are hatched.

Unfortunately, an "ethical egg" is a very rare thing indeed, and not something you would find in a supermarket.

Many vegetarians don't eat meat because they don't want to hurt animals, yet still eat milk and eggs (and yes, I did this for over a decade). What many don't know (and what I didn't know until about 2 years ago) is that eggs and milk are arguably the most inhumane of animal products. (And this is not meant to put down anyone who is a lacto/ovo vegetarian!)

Answer 3

Some vegetarians do eat eggs, some don't. Some eat dairy, some don't. Some choose not to eat meat for animal rights, some choose not to eat meat for other reasons. I am a vegetarian because I feel that it makes me a healthier person and I physically feel better when I eat that way. The fact that I am able to save some lives in the process is really only a bonus for me. I do eat eggs on occasion but some other veggies might cringe at the thought of it. It really all depends on where the INDIVIDUAL stands.

Answer 4

I agree with everyone who answered for you here. Personally, I am new to Vegetarianism. I decided to start "Cold Turkey" lol, figuratively speaking.

Anyhow, I found it to be very hard not knowing what to eat to stay in good health. I didn't want to consume any animal products at all but I then realized that everything I ate every day had some type of animal by product. I was stumped. Never the less, in the last 3 weeks the only thing I have consumed that I feel I shouldn't have was mac and cheese at Thanksgiving and ice cream. I yearn to be a Vegan but haven't yet found alternative foods to replace what I've been accustom to eating for the last 39 years.

Answer 5

I can't answer for everyone, but I will answer for myself!

I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian, meaning I do not eat meat but I do eat eggs and other dairy products. My reasons for being a vegetarian are various, but one of them is because I do not like to cause suffering to animals.

That said, an egg is (supposed to be) unfertilized. That means that by eating an egg, I am killing nothing.

I do understand the vegan perspective--especially the point about animal welfare. Animals who lay eggs and produce milk are sometimes mistreated in the dairy industry.

I do what I can for the animals:)

Answer 6

IMO this is a large problem with the ethical Vegetarian's line of thinking (and is why I became Vegan). Animals still die, and still suffer for eggs, and dairy. Anyone who thinks otherwise does not understand factory farming, or even farming in general. A little thought makes it pretty obvious why this is so.

When a dairy cow stops producing a lot of milk per year they slaughter her. The male calf's she has from being raped (the dairy farmers themselfs call this device the "rape rack" so don't yell at me for it.) to induce lactation, are sold to veal farmers. (Cows don't lactate for no reason just as human females don't.)
The male chicks in egg production are killed hours after hatching, there is no use for them. The hens are crammed into cages too small to spread their wings. once their production falls they are slaughtered and used for pet food, or cheap TV dinners. There is no retirement village for retired hens, or cows. They are killed too, and suffer longer, and worse then animals raised just for flesh.

"There is bit of Veal in every glass of milk" remember that.

Disclaimer: This is in no way meant to bust on Vegetarians, This is a starting point for a great many people, and Lacto foods can be tough to give up. (they are addictive). However I don't think this is a reason no to discuss these things.

Answer 7

There is actually a difference between being VEGETARIAN and being VEGAN. The latter eats no animal products at all.
Vegetarians, however, consume a largely plant-based diet along with certain animal products to compensate for a supposed lack of certain B vitamins.

Answer 8

As a vegetarian, my problem is with the way animals are raised and slaughtered. Eating cage free, vegetarian unfertilized eggs from my local co-op is okay for me. However, I think you'll find a wide range of feelings on this topic. By the way, most cheeses are not really vegetarian as they contain "enzymes" or "rennent" made from the lining of calve and pig stomachs. It's not easy to find true "vegetarian" cheese.

Answer 9

And some of them eat cheese, which comes from milk, which comes from animals.

It's about eating a living thing. Or killing or maiming an animal in order to consume part of it. Eating eggs or drinking milk doesn't involve either of these actions. But some vegetarians won't consume anything at all that comes from an animal, so they don't eat eggs. Or consume milk products.

Answer 10

Yeah, eggs aren't fertilized - so technically people who eat them are only sucking on the nutrient sack that the embryo would have eaten instead of the embryo itself .... I'm a vegetarian and I don't eat eggs - because of the conditions laying hens are forced to live in. I do eat dairy - but I'm trying to wean myself of it ... too fattening, etc ... and I don't really agree with the methods of dairy farmers either.