Vegetarians... why are you against Eggs/Dairy?

Question

Pretty simple question... I'm considering becoming a vegetarian for health reasons, but I don't understand why people are against eating Eggs and Dairy products. Eggs and Milk/Yogurt/Cheese, etc is literally the fruit of the animal. It’s like being against eating tomatoes because it comes from a bush and your taking from the bush... Harvesting eggs doesn’t kill chickens and milking a cow isn't terminal... I just don't understand it, but I have an open mind so please enlighten me.

Thanks!

Also, I'm changing eating habits to be as healthy as possible. I can give up eggs/dairy and whatever it takes to make me as healthy as possible. I know there are a lot of health benefits from being a Vegetarian, so what is the most healthy way to go regardless of ethics, etc?

Answer 1

you're mixing up vegetarian and vegan. vegetarians, as i understand it, just don't eat meat, whereas vegans refuse to eat anything that involves "Exploitation" of animals. IE eggs, milk, etc. i don't support this in my own personal beliefs, and i believe what vegans are saying is that they believe it is unjust to "exploit" animals for our own causes. i'd tell you more if i could, but i personally don't get it too much. ^////^

Answer 2

Despite what you may read, not ALL vegetarians eat dairy products. I for one do not.
Here is my reasoning:
The dairy industry is closely related to the animal slaughtering industry. After the dairy cows are "used up", they are off to the meat processing plant. By eating dairy I feel as though I'm supporting the meat industry as well, albeit indirectly. Veal production is also tied into the dairy industry and that is something I cannot and will not support.
So beyond the more roundabout connections, I've found in my research that dairy farms are beyond cruel to the cows. They stand up all day and cannot turn around or walk. They rarely see fresh air. They are kept pregnant (against the laws of nature) to keep their milk production at a constant rate. They are also susceptible to sores and wounds from the milking machines that are very brutal to their delicate udders. Oftentimes these sores and health issues are not addressed and the blood and puss from these sores falls directly into the milk.
I could go on, but that's the main reason I won't consume those products.

Answer 3

Am a Vegetarian, I don't eat eggs because they stink but I do eat dairy. Vegans don't have dairy because of how the cows are treated in the milking process. In essence, they are against cruelty meted out to animals. Similarly chickens are given too much feed which is unnatural, just so they produce eggs. It's the whole process that puts off Vegans. Vegetarians on the other hand, eat dairy products but not eggs. Vegetarians who eat eggs are called Eggetarians.

Answer 4

I'll be honest, I do miss the taste of lobster, crab, and shrimp. I don't miss eating flesh though. Taste isn't an important enough factor for me to eat flesh ever again. There's lots of companies though that make excellent replacements that satisfy me and my taste buds :) . I am still looking for a vegan seafood replacement though. I've seen stuff online, but never in stores. Maybe someday I'll see it in stores, but for now it's just vegetarian and vegan replacements for chicken, turkey, beef, and pork. As for dairy, No. The vegan ice cream is delicious, the almond/soy milk is good, the vegan butter is creamy and delicious, I found an AMAZING vegan mayo called Vegenaise, and Tofutti makes a decent vegan sour cream and cream cheese. As far as eggs go, I was never an "egg person" to begin with, so I don't miss that at all. I've baked a few things without eggs and it went just fine too. I didn't ever feel good when I had dairy :-/ so I decided that the taste wasn't worth the horrid gut ache I got after eating it. All my vegan replacements are great.

Answer 5

Dairy cows and laying hens actually treated very badly and actually are killed. Male calves become veal and male baby chickens are ground up while still alive or are sold to a slaughterhouse. Eating dairy and eggs supports the slaughter industry.

The animals are also treated very badly. Most people have an image in their mind about family owned farms that love and respect their animals, but this is not the case. Cows are castrated and get their horns cut off without any anesthetic. Chickens get their sensitive beaks and nails sliced off with a hot blade. They're also forced to produce much more milk/eggs than is natural, causing infections, disease, etc.

Answer 6

A quick bit of research is all it would take for you to see that the egg and dairy industries are at least as cruel as the meat industries. Milk is not the "fruit" of a cow. An apple falls naturally from a tree when it is time for it to do so. That is the natural way of things. The way milk is produced in this country is anything but natural.

Dairy cows, who would live up to 20 years in the wild, are typically sent to slaughter after less than five years. During those five years, they are kept constantly pregnant, as this is the only way mammals give milk. Their calves are taken from them at birth, and usually sent to veal crates to be slaughtered. The mothers are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics to increase production and try to stave off the infections caused by having painful milking machines hooked up to their udders constantly.

Dairy cows are not fed an adequate diet, as it is too expensive to feed the cows enough calories to counteract all the energy they lose by milking. Eventually, they simply give out and give up hope. Often, by the time a dairy cow stops producing, they are too weak to walk and are either lifted by forklifts or dragged by chains to slaughter.

When you buy dairy or dairy products, you are paying for these atrocities, and many more we have not been priviledged to see.

The egg industry is just as bad, but as I am less knowledgable about that, I will let someone else tell you what is wrong with eggs.

Answer 7

Well, just because we're not killing the animals doesn't mean that we aren't also depriving them of their chance to live their life naturally in a way that they choose.
I choose not to eat dairy products because humans have no need for cow's milk, just as they have no need for their mother's breastmilk after infancy. Why cow? Why not pig's milk? Or goat? Or cat? Or dog? Or rat?
As for eggs, the conditions in which most egg-laying hens are kept are horrible-they have no room to move around, and the crowded space breeds hostility and pecking, causing most farmers to de-beak the chickens with a hot blade shortly after birth.
I see them as other life-forms with the right to live, not something that I should exploit merely because I'm more evolved-I can consider the moral and ecological implications of a diet containing meat, dairy, and eggs.

Answer 8

Vegans ARE vegetarians.

Let me break this down once again for some of you...

All vegetarians do not eat meat or anything the animal had to die for (lard, gelatin, etc). Fish and chicken are meat.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians: dairy and eggs.
Lacto vegetarians: dairy, no eggs.
Ovo vegetarians: eggs, no dairy.
Strict vegetarians: No eggs. No dairy. No honey.
Vegan: No eggs. No dairy. No honey. No purposely chosen animal products in the other aspects of their lives. (i.e. wool, silk, lanolin, leather, fur, etc.)

"Vegetarian" blankets all of the above.

Answer 9

Well..
Cows that are being used for milk will be slaughtered later on..
and when they milk the cow..it really hurts them..a machine does it, their utters rip off in some cases.

the cows are continuously being artificially made pregnant, so they can produce milk primarily made for their young.
when the baby cows are born, the mother and the baby are separated. when this happens the mother cow actually goes to look for her young, she is often worried when this happens.

the baby cows are then sent to slaughter to be made into steaks and burgers.
If u stop drinking milk..that will save cows from suffering.
oo yea and the cows kept for milk are treated horribly, living in dirty areas. they are also heavily bruised due to the workers whipping them to go, and do what they want then to do.

EGGS
of course u aren't killing the chicken..but ur hurting it. the chickens are stacked on top of eachother, and when one chicken lays and egg it will fall on top of the chicken below it.
the chickens are kept in crates, which are so crowed they can barley move ONE wing. they suffer from diseases,and when they are too old to produce eggs they are sent to slaughter, usually heavily bruised from the dropping eggs.
you are also preventing a baby chicken to start its new life. thats like aborting a child.

Now isn't that cruel!?!
u can chose to eat it if u would like..but think of how much they suffer for that one glass of milk.

GOODLUCK BUDDY!

Answer 10

You'd like to find a balanced veggie diet?

Check out the nutrition levels in legumes, linseeds, soy, and other veggies and you'll be surprised how balanced vegetarian diet can be.

i don't eat eggs or take dairy
because i'm lactose intolerant as most asians are
and the conditions that eggs are generally loaded with antibiotic resistant bacteria.

overdosing on antibiotic drumsticks breaks down your natural immunity.

Answer 11

vegetarians aren't. Vegans are.
"Vegetarian" is short for "lacto-ovo vegetarian" which means someone who eats no meat but consumes dairy and eggs.

Vegans, on principle, simply shun the use of all animal products. They are mostly in it for the "animal cruelty" aspect of it, and the hens who lay eggs live horrible, torturous lives, and so do the milk cows and their babies


EDIT!! THe healthiest vegetarian diet is a balanced one that isn't extreme, but centers around whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables. THose things should make up close to 80% of the diet.

Conversely, Meat alternatives, junk food, white carbs (like white bread), eggs and dairy should be eaten in moderation and should not make up the "bulk" of the diet.