Pondering on something.?

Question

All food has some bacteria in it and bacteria are organisms, just as a dog or a cow or a grasshopper are.

So this makes me ponder; what are the lines between vegan and not vegan?

Could it be said that eatting an unfertilized egg from a free range bird is more vegan than eatting fermented beans since fewer organisms (bacteria) die from eatting the egg?

I'm vegan and this question just happened to occur to me and I'm wondering what other people think. I hope I get some serious replies.

Yes I agree, there's no such thing as a vegan becase it's impossible to eat without the use of other organisms in many different ways. So my question might be restated as, what are the de-facto deffinitions of vegan? Is it limiting organism use to a cetain level of biological evolution? Maybe a level of intelligence in food related organisms?

Answer 1

The definition of Vegan does not allow for the use of eggs, no matter how they are produced.

That's simply the way it is..

I have no problem with people eating free-range eggs (hey, I'm not even vegan!) but the fact is that someone who does, does not fit the defiinition of "vegan" and should not call themselves a "vegan."

Just like there's nothing wrong with having brown hair, but if you do, you shouldn't refer to yourself as a blonde.

Answer 2

It is impossible for humans to live without certain bacteria living in and on their bodies.
Bacteria are much more like plants than animals.
The only microbes that are clearly animals are the protozoa. It is not normal for a human body to contain protozoa (such as amoebae, hydras, rotifers, etc.)
The ancient Jain religion believed they were sparing the lives of the certain microbes if they avoided eating root vegetables such as carrots, onions and potatoes (and that was thousands of years before people had microscopes).
It is possible to avoid animal food products, but it is not possible to live without bacteria.