Vegans Don't Eat Eggs. Period.
This week I left an online vegetarian parenting group that I had been a part of for probably 6.5 years now. I joined it when my daughter was born. Over the years I have found the group quite frustrating at times, because many of the same issues come up time and again and you would think the people in the group would "get it" but they don't.
The final straw this time was the discussion of vegans eating eggs. Someone posted saying they are a vegan family, but they eat the eggs from their backyard chickens. Ugh.
Sorry folks, but even if you eat eggs from your own backyard chickens you are not a vegan family. They argued that their is nothing wrong with eating them (or calling themselves vegan doing so). This is because they say the chickens are treated well. Oddly enough, the "vegan family" got lots of support from other members in calling themselves vegan and in eating the eggs.
Here are my concerns:
1) If you are going to eat eggs, call yourself a vegetarian, not a vegan. Eating eggs is not ever part of veganism. The public is confused enough about what vegetarians and vegans eat, we don't need more confusion.
2) While she seemed to believe that her kids would only eat those eggs, I believe it will give her children an appetite for eggs. And where do you draw the line in calling yourself a vegan - you can eat your eggs, what about your neighbors? What about the neighbor who has a cow or goat, would it be okay to drink the milk?
3) What this "vegan family" is teaching their kids is that animals are indeed a food source and as long as the conditions are favorable (in their opinion), then it is okay to use them or their bodily secretions as they see fit.
4) There is a major gross factor in eating the ovarian waste from another animal. Maybe I'm the weird one here, but it is disgusting to eat another animal's ovum. Beyond the gross factor, eggs are not healthy. They are little cholesterol bombs, containing 212 miligrams of cholesterol per egg. Yikes!
5) Their were arguments about the eggs not being fertilized. To that, I say read the first four points above.
Anyway, you get the idea...
So after years of being in that group, I left it because of this issue.
Eggs, blech! My kids and my partner eat eggs from a "favourable condition".. I hope this is something I can get them to give up if only for the health reasons. Our bodies make the full amount of cholesterol we need, any more is unhealthy.
We've been brainwashed into thinking that giving up red meat is the trick to being healthy or being a vegetarian. I meet so many people online and in real life who say that they are vegetarian when in fact they eat chicken or fish or say that they're vegan and still eat eggs or cheese. Ugh! I feel your pain...
However, as I've said before, it's a process. I took a long time giving up dairy, as you know; I struggled with the whole cheese thing. You'll be happy to know that I had a dream last night in which I was at a party and the only food available was cheese pizza. I was starving, but when I opened the box and looked at the pizza, I only felt disgust when I remembered the raping of cows. I don't know if that is your quote specifically, but I think about it whenever the idea of eating cheese arises. Now that I've dreamt about it, I think it's part of me.
Posted by: Vibeke | 04/10/2011 at 02:00 PM
Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad to hear you are off the cow juice! :)
Posted by: Jacqueline | 04/10/2011 at 06:44 PM
I would've left the group too. You did the right thing. Eggs are never vegan, and I can't believe people are claiming they are!! Tell them to look up the definition. It doesn't matter whether the animal is treated fairly or not. It's gross and a little insane to me to eat something that comes out of its body.
Plus, eggs are not the healthiest source of protein, so why eat them?
Posted by: Amanda | 04/16/2011 at 02:07 AM