What is your opinion on the morality of eating eggs?

Question

I am a lacto-ovo-vegetarian. I am on the faultline of dceiciding whether or not it is right to eat eggs. I look at it like I am just eating a product of the chicken that comes out anyways and is just not fertilized, like dairy. I don't want to bring harm to anything if I can help it, but I ahve to draw the line. I realize that I kill coli-rectal bacteria when I defecate, and even airborne bacteria when I breath. Is this on the same page as eating eggs. My beleif is as higher beings we do not have to murder for survival. We can grow organic crops ( non-monoculture) and live with animals such as Cows, chickens,goats,sheep( for wool) and horses and camels to help our lives. But is it O.K. to eat chicken eggs. I don't adhere to the strict vegan dogma because domesticated cattle and sheep won't make it in the wild anymore. Wool is a good. Leather is ( in my opinion) uneccesarry and cotton is the $h*t. Anyways ...Opinions.

Answer 1

ok, please read my whole answer. i was a vegan, but then decided to let eggs back into my diet BUT they are organic and cage free(just a sec). my mom would not stop telling me that they are not fertilized, etc. and i was actually going to eat them again but i was like no, i'm full on vegan. finally, i just said, that is pointless, my mom practically lives in this really good health food store in our area and even before my vegan period i ate the organic cage free eggs that i honestly trust because i did my reasearch on other eggs and those horrid conditions, plus my area is very varied, and one part of it are all of these local farm areas just a few miles from where i live and we have lots of organic farmers in the area plus i trust that store with anything so i'm saying eggs in the first place are chicken menstruation AND the hen is very content, therefore- sunnyside up,please! kidding. really though, if people would just inform themselves about foods things would be so great. i mean, the eggs taste great and i only eat things that taste good, are good for me, and don't involve general cruelty, especially with alternatives. later!
PS-they are also free roaming hens : )

Answer 2

As a vegetarian for animal reasons, I'm sure you know about the horrific conditions that food animals are kept in. Egg production is not only not better, but it may be worse.

The vast majority of egg-laying hens in the US are kept in battery cages stacked several high, unable to move, and kept in close quarters with thousands of other birds. They are defecated on from above and become so aggressive, most of them have their beaks burned off to prevent them from killing each other. This is not a worst-case kind of thing; this is the norm.

When you buy eggs, you are financing the torture of billions of sentient creatures each year. I hope this helped.

Answer 3

a pal will understand which you have a ethical objection to precise forms of nutrition and could appreciate that. i may be grateful for the theory, and doubtless factor her to a pair vegan cake recipes. Or incredibly, i might make a vegan cake for her (return the want, with a view to communicate). And no, if there have been some thing I felt strongly approximately, i does no longer compromise my morals or convictions for the sake of yet another. you will possibly be polite and nevertheless refuse.

Answer 4

That's great you're vegetarian, and I agree that everyone has to decide to draw the line somewhere. Unfortunately, egg-laying hens are some of the most abused animals on the planet. They are confined so intensively that they can't spread a single wing for their entire lives. Crowded conditions can cause chickens to peck each other to death, and this is "solved" by slicing off the animals' beaks with a hot blade (and no painkillers). The chickens are slaughtered when their egg production declines (just like chickens who are killed for their meat). Male chicks are useless to the egg industry so they're ground up alive or suffocated in plastic bags. So to answer your question, my opinion on eggs is that people who care about animal welfare shouldn't eat them.

More info:
http://www.chooseveg.com/eggs.asp
http://goveg.com/factoryFarming_chickens_egg.asp
http://www.eggindustry.com/


Edit: This is in response to the article winenut posted.

"...the animals are effectively immobilized for nearly every moment of their lives. Yet, the industry and the animal scientists who shill for the industry try to tell us that it's better for animals to be crammed into cages and crates. They face fewer risks and less aggression if they are trapped in a cage, the assertion goes.

I guess we'd face little risk of human aggression and some other diminished threats if we lived in a cage our entire lives. But it wouldn't be much of a life. And that's the problem with these industry scientists. If you just take narrow measures—such as longevity, output, or production—and fail to see the whole, you can convince yourself that this extreme confinement of animals is acceptable. But it just doesn't pass the common sense test. Animals built to move should be allowed to move—in fact, that's the way much of animal agriculture was conducted for centuries before agribusiness interests developed factory farms that now dominate most animal production sectors.

The fact is, the industry did not opt for intensive confinement systems for the benefit of the animals. It moved in this direction because it returned more profits. By not allowing animals to move, you don't have to feed them as much. By packing more of them into smaller and smaller areas, you can raise more animals in a set amount of space."

Answer 5

I'm on the fence with eggs, too.
I used to buy cage-free, but they are not available where I live now.
If you're in the States, I suggest going to
http://www.localharvest.org/

Depending on your area, you might be able to find a local organic family farm that will sell you eggs. It's also a good site to find organic farms of all kinds, some that will ship to you.
No, I'm not affiliated with the site.

Answer 6

My opinion is that eggs shouldn't be consumed. The hens that lay the eggs are kept in tiny cages and it is a painful life for them. They are killed when egg production drops and presumably used for meat. Therefore, you are also supporting the meat industry. However, i think it might be okay if you had a pet chicken and you ate its eggs. (if said chicken wasn't going to be killed the second it stopped producing).
I hope you can come to a desicion.
peace. :)

Answer 7

i believe that it was a necessaity at some point in time to survive. but we have some many options and alternatives now so there is no need to eat it if you can eat something that doesnt harm an animel. as for eggs i dont eat eggs or drink milk however ill eat cake, and cookie. i eat stuff that contains it but if i were to make it myself i use the alternatives. i dont eat ice cream either.

Answer 8

im not vegan nor am I vegetarian and half the stuff you said didn't make sense to me I believe that the natives to the land which is not the united states knew what was right, when the europeans came they killed everything because thats how they thought it was supposed to go, chicken eggs however i fink disgusting so i wouldn't eat them, but i would not say that it is immoral, its your life so it's your choice.

Answer 9

I am a vegetarian. Although I don't eat eggs often, I do on occasion. I personally don't feel it is immoral. I do believe that animals were partially created to be a source of food if needed, although I do not enjoy eating meat at all.


It is up to you according to your level of comfort.

Answer 10

I'm vegetarian, I don't eat eggs.

If somebody else wants to eat eggs, that's up to them.