Vegans avoid all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. So of course, vegans do not eat eggs.
“But why not”? I hear you ask. “Eating an egg doesn't kill a chicken, and it's only going to waste, right”?
Wrong.
This is a common misconception, and the reason the consumption of eggs is still a hotly contested topic by meat eaters, and even some vegetarians.
In this post I reveal 3 morally-sobering reasons vegans don't eat eggs.
WARNING: If you're sensitive to animal cruelty, I must warn you that this post contains video clips that will upset you.
Doesn't look that “free”, does it?
A typical facility may house 300,000 birds at a time with 40,000 – 60,000 birds per shed. Contracted ‘growers' for the large companies therefore each grow several million birds annually. (Source: Animals Australia)
1. The Murdering of Male Chicks
Laying hen strains differ from meat production strains, and of course male birds of the laying strain do not lay eggs. So what does an egg farming business do with all these so-called useless birds?
Well, it would cost way too much money to keep them in a natural environment and let them live out their days as Mother Nature intended, so the male chicks are killed shortly after birth.
The most common killing method is ‘spine snapping', whereby pressure is applied to the neck to dislocate the spinal column from the skull or brain.
Another technique is asphyxiation by carbon dioxide and then maceration using a high-speed grinder – just picture a big blender with a huge blade slicing up baby chicks.
For businesses that want to save money, asphyxiation is by-passed and the chicks thrown into the blender alive.
In recent years electrocution has introduced. It's cheaper and more reliable than asphyxiation and neck breaking, but equally as cruel, I think you'll agree.
Animal welfare organisations don't seem to care much either. Here's a tweet from the good old RSPCA (UK):
We permit both the use of gas and maceration for the killing of day old chicks. Done correctly, both methods can offer an effective and humane kill and our welfare standards set strict parameters stating how both of these methods must be carried out to ensure this is the case.
2. The Death Sentence for a Non-Productive Hen
With pauses every few days, a hen can lay over 250 eggs per year. But as with human females, production slows down with age and, towards the end of her second year, production noticeably declines.
When she can no longer lay eggs she is considered useless and ready for slaughter.
From the time a hen is born a death sentence hangs over her head. She is marked with an invisible timer; one set by the cruel hand of a human, not by Mother Nature.
Once she can no longer serve her master with eggs, rather than being given back her deserved freedom in a natural environment, she is killed.
She is strapped in a vice and her head is severed or snapped.
It is worth noting that many birds don't make it that far. The strain of egg laying and despicable living conditions on both battery, cage and free range farms cause disease, irreparable injury and premature death.
3. The Deception of Free-Range
We have been led to believe that free-range hens have a jolly old time, running around pecking at grass and insects and laying the odd egg here and there so we can enjoy eggs for breakfast and a cake for dessert.
But the fate of a free-range hen is the same as that of a battery farm hen: once no longer required, she is slaughtered.
Don’t let the word “free-range” fool you into believing hens aren't enslaved.
Only a tiny percentage of free-range chickens have “good lives” – and these are those lucky enough to be raised on home farms and allowed to live freely until they die of old age.
But even that has its morally questionable ramifications – as I explain in my backyard chickens post.
Briefly, when you consider that hens in a backyard environment can live for around 8-10 years, and in some cases a lot longer, and that they, like any other pet, rack up medical expenses when they are sick, you can see why it's unlikely that anyone would look after a hen into old age, let alone once she has stopped laying eggs.
That's why so many of them end up in rescue centres, or dumped.
The term “free range eggs” means eggs produced by birds that are allowed outdoors for at least part of the day. “Part” being the operative word here.
The amount of grass under foot, sunlight on feathers and wind through ears a bird actually experiences on a day-to-day basis depends on the country and its relevant laws.
In the majority of countries, even the US and UK, the legal requirements for “free range” are insulting.
When yard time is over it's back inside the indoor pen, where hens are squashed into unnatural conditions and forced to constantly fight for space move.
The only notable key difference is that free-range hens aren’t in cages.
Beware of other misleading labels too, such as ‘Cage-free', ‘Barn', ‘Barn-roaming' or ‘Aviary'. These are birds kept indoors that never see natural daylight.
Beware of the term ‘furnished cages', too. This is a rebranding of the term ‘battery-cage'; a small wire cage – about 67-76 square inches – where approximately 95 percent of laying hens spend their entire lives.
The Horrifying Reality of Eating Eggs
If you're eating eggs, it's time to wake up and smell the torture.
To maintain a profitable business, male chicks must be culled (gassed, thrown into a blender) and hens need to be slaughtered when they can no longer produce regular, quality eggs.
There is no ethical way to run an egg-farming business. It's not possible because it requires interfering with the bird's natural cycle of birth, reproduction and death.
Moreover, the more ethical you try to make the business, the more unprofitable it becomes. And losing money is not what people go into business for.
Before eating eggs, one must consider that animals feel parallel levels of stress and pain to that of humans, and chickens are no exception.
Excuses such as “Chickens are dumb animals”, “A chicken isn't as important as a human”, are just an arrogant deflection of the truth, a smokescreen to protect one's conscience.
Human babies aren't exactly “clever” when they're born, either. They live through instinct, naturally gravitating towards the security of their mother and relying on her milk for survival.
Baby chicks do the same, except they rely on mum to call them to food and show them how to eat instead of nursing for milk like a mammal would.
Can you imagine human babies being culled at birth, just because they were born the wrong sex, or earmarked for death once they are no longer able to fulfill a specific laying quota.
This sounds horrific, and it’s exactly what the egg farming industry does, and exactly what the eating of eggs contributes to. Eating eggs contributes to pain and suffering and, by all accounts, is morally reprehensible.
YET, the MAJORITY of Vegans tend to lean to the far left (Liberal) political side. These are the same ones who think it is okay to MURDER a BABY in the mother’s womb but not okay to kill a chicken or eat eggs? God gave us animals for work and for food. A HUMAN life is more important than an animal life by far! People need to get their priorities straight! STOP MURDERING BABIES in the WOMB in the name for CONVENIENCE!!
Sep 01, 2020 at 9:17 pm
But one doesn’t justify the other. So if you are anti-abortion you have the right to take the lives of other innocent sentient beings? It doesn’t make sense.
1. When did God say that?
2. So you think if Jesus were alive today, with the abundance of food we have, that he would condone slaughter houses and the unnecessary enslavement and murder of innocent sentient beings – God’s beings? I thought Jesus was compassionate and kind, and would never hurt any being unnecessarily.
3. And what about these verses in the Bible?
– “And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” —Genesis 1:30
– “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine … Then Daniel asked … ‘Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.’ … At the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations.” —Daniel 1:8, 11–12, 15
– “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.” —Psalms 36:6
– “Thou shalt not kill — Exodus 20:13
– “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.” — Genesis 9:4
– “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. — Proverbs 15:17
– “Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh. — Proverbs 23:20
– “He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.” — Isiah 66:3
There’s many more.
Sep 01, 2020 at 9:57 pm
A friend just asked me this question and it got me thinking about alienation of the worker, how the system is profit driven and how the worker is made redundant when the company says the worker is not making enough profit.
My reason and my understanding for being a vegan is mainly political, whether it a bee, hen, a person, its the process of commodification of life and supporting system that does that is enough for me why i don’t eat eggs. Veganism is political. Great debate 🙂
Jul 12, 2020 at 7:13 pm
You make a good point. We tend to think of the political realm and morality as separate entities, but politics is essentially the governance of morality in society, since it has the power to mandate violence – such as the animal agriculture industry.
Jul 12, 2020 at 8:42 pm
It also seems you think it is wrong to feed animals to other animal eating species. I believe you mentioned pet food. What about animals in rescue sanctuaries? Let’s use big cats as an example. They eat a 100% carnivorous diet. As they are obligate carnivores, other animals have to be slaughtered to feed them. A catch-22 to be sure, but then they too, will die without their proper diet and nutrition. And please don’t go on a tangent about how they should all be out in the wild. I agree with that 1000% percent. But we can blame mankind for their demise there. Sad that there are more tigers in the US than in the wild. But to let them go extinct…? Horrible.
May 04, 2020 at 4:49 pm
I understand your point. And it always comes down to the same thing: if humans stopped interfering with nature, such problems would not arise. With all the knowledge and technology we have, you’d think we would be working in harmony with nature and doing what benefits the planet as a whole; sadly it’s not the case.
Is it ethical to kill 50 cows a year to feed one tiger in captivity? If yes, why does 1 tiger = 50 cows, or chickens or pigs? What greater value does a tiger have other than we’ve bred fewer of them to kill and eat / wear? Would you breed and slaughter 50 labradors to feed and save a tiger? 100 cats?
The tigers in captivity can’t be set free in the wild because they were bred in captivity, something that should be stopped immediately. As you note, it is the fault of humans.
Perhaps if we stop encroaching upon and destroying their environment, and murdering them for skins, there wouldn’t be just 3,890 tigers left in the wild. They wouldn’t be anywhere close to extinct. There is no “let them go extinct” argument. This is the argument zoos use to keep their breeding programs going. It’s just a case of leaving them alone. Mother Nature takes care of the rest.
The solution is simple: cause as little suffering as possible. Not all suffering is avoidable, but my word we do a great job of making animals suffer as much as possible.
May 04, 2020 at 6:27 pm
Excellent points all. But is the answer to let them all go extinct in the wild? That too would be our well deserved karma. And of course that would be due to man’s greed and prioritization of human desires over all else. But unfortunately, man isn’t doing that.
But there ARE people out there–organisations who are trying to protect wildlife in their natural habitats, re-establish their populations, etc. In Africa, WWF, etc. Look at the Bald Eagle. Their numbers were down to 417 in the wild by 1963. Through captive breeding and release as well as conservation they are no longer on the Endangered Species list and number 150,000+ . Do you see that as a bad thing?
As for wildlife that can’t be re-introduced to their natural habitats due to injuries, etc. (and mostly MAN’S IDIOCY!), we should release them all too? And let Mother Nature decide I guess.(?)
We ARE making positive steps–many more vegetarians and vegans now, great reduction of pet overpopulation, wildlife awareness and education, no more circuses, no more Sea World orcas! These are all positive steps imo. You are intelligent and caring no doubt, but at the same time seem to have a rather dismal attitude as far as some people trying to improve the situation in earnest. It really sucks that so few have to clean up the messes of so many others.
Yes, I know ” just leave them alone” would be great, but shouldn’t we do our best to repair the damage we have done?
May 04, 2020 at 7:04 pm
I agree that there are some great conservation organizations out there, but 99% of the workers rescue/save animals in the day time and then go home and put some ribs/wings/burgers on the grill when they get home. It makes no sense to me. Do you care about animal suffering or not? It’s like me working for a domestic violence charity and then going home to hit my wife.
There’s a donkey sanctuary in the UK I have visited a few times. Everyone is appalled that these animals are bred and slaughtered for meat in foreign lands. They stroke the donkeys and then go inside to the cafe and order a steak and chips. Would those same people visit a cow sanctuary and then go inside the cafe for a donkey steak?
When you break these things down it’s madness. It’s cognitive dissonance.
Sadly, many charitable organizations, sanctuaries, etc, become commercial entities; they become a livelihood, a business that puts food on the table for many. So they rely on animals needing to be rescued. Many start breeding programs as a way to justify their existence.
We should try and undo the damage caused, if it causes no further harm. But at the same time we need to stop and look at the actions we are taking elsewhere. What’s the point in breeding eagles back into the wild if at the same time we are destroying their natural habitat through deforestation, hunting them to stuff, and poisoning them with DDT.
It seems like so much is a mess and yes it is easy to be pessimistic. But we can all opt out if we want. We can become the change we want to see, today. With the knowledge and food we have available we can live until a ripe old age without eating animals, wearing their skins, destroying their environments and exploiting them.
So why don’t we do it?
Sure, if we are short on food and have no choice then that’s about survival. But causing harm unnecessarily? I don’t want to part of that.
It’s not easy to go against the grain. People will mock, tease and constantly try to find a flaw in your argument. But as John Prine so poignantly sang in The Great Compromise (about the Vietnam war): I’d rather have names thrown at me, than fight for a thing that ain’t right.
Peace.
May 05, 2020 at 8:35 pm
I am curious as to why they have to kill the male baby chicks and kill the older hens once they can no longer make eggs – as opposed to just giving them to humans to eat? This is not about a vegan argument for eating or not eating animals but more to the reality that these birds are already destined for an unnatural death – and wouldn’t it be more efficient to the meat and dairy eating community to salvage all food stuffs?
Sep 30, 2018 at 5:02 pm
It’s a good point.
A very small percentage of baby chicks are killed and sold to owners of snakes (for food), but apart from that there is no use for the male chicks. A poor laying female, or a female that can no longer lay, is a waste of money too. Also consider that the laying hens have not been bred to eat, so probably don’t meet the standards in terms of weight and edible quality to warrant the cost of killing, de-feathering, gutting, packaging and selling. At the end of the day, these selectively bred animals are simply commodities. There is no respect for their needs as a species, or any regard for their lives. It is all about maximising profit, as the majority of industry is. If it costs less to throw a live chick into a blender, or gas a chick, or bury it alive in the ground, then that’s what they will do.
Oct 02, 2018 at 1:17 pm
I have been vegan now for 3 months and it’s the best thing I have ever done I have educated myself so much on something I knew nothing about Everyone needs to be educated on the cruel treatment of animal because I feel that people just don’t know
Aug 26, 2018 at 9:35 pm
I have two chickens as pets. I got them from a lady that breeds chickens as a little side hobby because she just loves chickens. She doesn’t cull the roosters.
One of my hens is over ten years old. She no longer lays eggs and I have not slaughtered her, as you seem to indicate all non vegans would do.
My other girl is about two years old. She lays an egg almost every day and she literally could not care less if I take the eggs. Sometimes I don’t collect them for a few days and there can be three or four eggs in the nest box. She does not sit on them, she does not eat them. They know when they have a rooster around and therefore need to take the time to sit on eggs to hatch them. They are not stupid.
You have your beliefs and other people have theirs, nobody is wrong and you shouldn’t attack others because they disagree with you. Just because somebody is not vegan does not make them a murder loving psychopath that wants to see all animals killed or harmed.
Aug 23, 2018 at 1:46 pm
I’m not attacking anyone. This isn’t about views or opinions, it’s about what is right and wrong. If someone is doing something immoral, regardless of what they view or opinion is, then they should be able to justify it. The burden of proof is on them.
This article is about the factory farming industry. It’s an evil industry. I stand by that assertion.
I have never said all non-vegans would slaughter a pet chicken. I commend you for making the commitment and seeing it through. Many don’t. Many give them away to rescue centres when they are no longer productive and become an expense.
For example: A family that live near me recently bought two pet ducks for their three year old child, as amusement. The ducks are locked up all day, living in their own faeces, while the family are at work. They are literally losing their minds in this prison, attacking each other and making distressing noises all day. Needless to say, someone has called the RSPCA.
The large majority of people want a pet, not because it benefits the animal, but because it will benefit them in some way. Of course it can be a reciprocal process (debatably), but the sheer number of rescue centres, animal welfare organisations and individual people who have to rescue animals from mistreatment every day proves this.
In regards to the woman you know who breeds chickens as a “little side hobby”, I don’t believe that is morally correct. Animals breed for themselves, they do not need human interference. There are far too many unwanted chickens out there that could be adopted from rescue centres or rescued from factory farming operations; why breed more and more chickens that ultimately may end up in the hands of bad owners who mistreat them, neglect them or slaughter them. Obviously you are not one of those people, but I assume you can see where I’m coming from.
The fact of the matter is, if you sit down and critically think about it, wherever humans interfere in the breeding of animals for monetary gain- be it for their appeal as companions, for eggs, meat or fur – the process always leaves a trail of exploitation, harm and health detriment to the species.
Aug 23, 2018 at 2:15 pm
Good article. I agree with your assessment of factory farming. That being said, I disagree with much of what you are saying in response to the person above having chicken in his backyard. This person obviously loves and cares for these animals. Your argument however is that because other people are sadly not so good and moral, then this person should not be allowed to enjoy the situation he is in.
As for shelters and animal rescue centers, ironically enough these exist not because of cruelty, but because left unchecked, dogs and cats and other animals will breed to incredibly high levels. The consequences of just “letting nature be” would actually cause more harm to these animals as they would breed out of control, but I am sure in reality you are very aware of this.
My own suggestion would be rather than say we must stop all consumption of unfertilized eggs, that we instead promote humane tactics for such an amazing source of protein that humans need without harming animals. This can be done and to avoid that and attempt to convince people to not consume them at all is missing a great opportunity to instead convince people to humanely consume a product that is not and has never been alive.
Finally, there are countless studies that show households with pets more often than not lead to children with higher levels of responsible behavior, as well as greater love and respect for animals in general. Again, I am sure you are already aware of much of this information, but it is important to acknowledge these truths or the entire argument that “we have bad people out there so all good people must stop what they’re doing as well” is not a strong argument and in the end does not likely convince people to stop their behavior, especially if their individual behavior is not truly as harmful or as inhumane as you are trying to argue it is.
Sep 30, 2018 at 3:12 pm
Hi Dustin, please read my article on backyard chickens here: https://theplantway.com/backyard-chickens/ That article explores the ethics behind keeping chickens. It is important to understand where most backyard chickens originate from, and the reasons why people get into the ownership of chickens. It is also important to understand how these animals have been selectively bred to the detriment of their health. You will also see at the bottom of that article in the comments section that I have an exchange with a lady who has rescue hence. I have no problem with anyone who was rescued an animal and is prepared to provide care, shelter and food until the animal dies and natural death. This particular lady is not bothered whether the hen lays eggs or not; she is simply prepared to unselfishly dedicate her time to giving the animal a better life than it previously had. If the hen lays eggs and discards them and the lady wishes to eat them, then that is up to her. Personally, from a health perspective I wouldn’t do that. But ethically, a discarded egg in this manner is akin to roadkill And it is down to the person as to whether they want to consume that or not.
is interesting that you bring up animal shelters, But I have to correct you on a couple of things there.
The reason animals such as cats and dogs reading the way they do it is because humans have selectively bred for domestication. Not so much cats, but certainly with domesticated dog breeds, we have bred animals that are unable to take care of themselves. while is the case that certain dog breeds can go stray and survive, the majority can’t because they have been bred so far away from their original wild dog physiology and behaviours. In a natural environment, environmental processes, natural predators and disease all work together to regulate populations of animals. Even if a population of one species grows to an unmanageable level, at some point nature will provide a correction.
But overpopulation is not the reason why shelters are full of animals. Shelters are full of animals because of irresponsible humans and their failure to properly look after an animal. People lust after designer dog breeds like fashion items. They buy dogs and cats to satisfy their own desire for a cute pet that offers unconditional love and company; and one they can show off to friends.
What most don’t realise is that owning such a pet comes with huge responsibility. Dogs, for example, need exercise every single day. Some breeds need exercise twice a day, and additionally will need a garden to exercise in too.
When I say exercise, I don’t just mean a walk around the block, I mean a good run out in a local park or field.
Dogs also need solid attention paid to their nutritional needs. Far too many people overfeed their dog and feed them processed foods that cause them to become ill and a obese. Dogs also need socialising from a young age, so that they are able to interact with other dogs and humans. This is a huge issue, and why we see so many dog attacks on other dogs and humans.
In recent decades there has been a huge rise in psychological problems in dogs. Many dogs suffer from separation anxiety, nervousness and other social issues. This is because humans are breeding and buying dogs without bothering to study dog behaviour dog psychology. They have no clue about animals in general. They end up treating a dog like a child, carrying it around like a designer handbag and forgetting that this is an animal that has animal instincts and species-specific needs that need to be met.
When people realise that owning a dog is such a huge responsibility and that the effort required to properly look after a dog outweighs the benefit of having that happy face greet you at the door when you come home from work, the dog soon ends up abandoned or taken to a shelter.
Statistics back this up. In fact, I am currently writing an article around this very subject. Here’s some stats I researched:
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals estimates about 3.3 million dogs enter U.S. animal shelters every year.
About 710,000 animals who enter shelters as strays are returned to their owners.
So these strays are not all dogs that have reproduced on the street, the large majority of strays have owners!
And get this: The no-kill movement has contributed to the population growth, as the number of dogs and cats that are euthanized has decreased from 20 million to 3 million each year. As NPR previously reported, there are nearly 14,000 shelters and pet rescue groups in the U.S. that acquire almost 8 million animals each year.
So not only are humans responsible for continuing to selectively breed dogs to their specifications, when the dogs are abandoned and staying in awful shelters, humans then protest against shelter euthanization policy and force shelters to have to spend more money keeping the dogs alive. So the number of unwanted dogs leading miserable lives living in shelters continues to increase.
I am not making the case that because there are a few bad people that every other good person must stop what they are doing. This analogy does not apply to animal agriculture or the exploitation of dogs or any other animal. The domestication of dogs, and the continued breeding of dogs to desirable specifications that suit humans as fashion accessories and cuddly sofa companions is to the detriment of the animal. It doesn’t matter if one person adopts a dog and looks after it really well for its entire life, the fact is that dogs should never have been bred that way in the first place.
In the same way that I mentioned the lady who looks after a rescue chicken. I’m not saying she is not a good person, what I’m saying is that the chicken should never have been selectively bred to produce up to 300 eggs per year so that it could satisfy a human desire for the animal to produce an abnormal amount of eggs. That same chicken should never have ended up in the hands of someone who sought to exploit it and couldn’t care for it properly.
Can you see one saying here? The act of and kindness only came about because of two acts of evil. That does not justify the good behaviour.
It is not the same as me going to the shop to buy a knife to cut up vegetables to feed my family a healthy dinner. I am buying that knife with an intent to do good. If that knife was then stolen by an evil person who went on stab someone to death, then your analogy would apply; because we wouldn’t be able to ban knives on the basis that some evil people will still them and do bad things.
It would be great if you could link a study showing that children who grow up in households with pets are more likely to show responsible behaviour as well as greater love and respect for animals. I can imagine that that might be true. I grew up always having a pet dog in the home. I was also taken to animal sanctuaries as a child, such as donkey sanctuaries and rescue centres. My parents were not fans of zoos and my mother has always helped out dog rescue centres and various animal charities. So clearly this had a bearing on me.
Cheers
Oct 02, 2018 at 2:08 pm
Thank you!
Jul 14, 2019 at 5:59 am
Thank you for this! I’ve been vegan for a year now and I still get so flustered when non-vegans question things like not eating eggs. I have a vegan recipe blog (with many moral truth-bombs peppered through) and would like to add a link to your article to my vegan resources page, if you don’t mind. Please le tme know if you are uncomfortable with this, and I’ll remove your article. Hannah 🙂
Aug 23, 2018 at 9:10 am
Hi Hannah,
Glad you found this useful.
Sure go ahead and add the link.
BTW, you might also be interested in this post where I discuss the ethics of backyard hens: https://theplantway.com/backyard-chickens/
I’ll check out some of your recipes 🙂
Aug 23, 2018 at 9:29 am
I have 6 chickens at home and they come and go as they please and love there life. I bring them treats every day and they get along with my dogs and love life. Everytime they see me they come running over to get treats. They even come and peck at the sliding glass door for treats. They come out of there home and cluck cluck cluck to let me know they laid an egg and I go out and let them know how much i appreciate them and give them much love and gratitude and treats for it. We have a very loving relation ship with one another. They give me eggs and I give them a safe home, protection, and lots of love. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. But I do understand if you can’t have your own as pets. I recommend getting your own and show them much love and you will see how smart and loving chickens really are, and I believe that just like plants that are also alive, you give the plants love and they give you food. You love your chickens and they provide much loving and needed b12 from a whole food. Much love to every one.
May 24, 2018 at 12:40 am
“and I believe that just like plants that are also alive”
Plants do not have a central nervous system, and many species of plant are designed for us and other animals to eat. One way many plants spread their seeds (seed dispersal) is by producing flowers or fruits that animals/humans want to eat. The fruit is digested by the animal, but the seeds pass through the digestive tract, and are dropped in other locations.
Plants detect and respond to stimuli in their environment, but they do not feel the same pain, stress and anxiety as sentient beings such as animals and humans. Moreover, when you cut the head off a chicken or the legs off a cow, they don’t grow back, whereas plants can be cut back and will naturally grow again.
“But I do understand if you can’t have your own as pets”
There wasn’t a moment of my life that we didn’t have a dog in our family. Now that I have my own family I do not have a dog, because I think it is immoral to torture and kill other animals for the sake of feeding mine. You can’t say you love animals and then happily pay for the unnecessary slaughter of cows and pigs to feed your one pet dog. Neither do I agree with selective breeding for domestication, because in nearly all cases is to the detriment of the species long-term health.
“You love your chickens and they provide much loving and needed b12 from a whole food”
Vitamin B12 is not made by plants or animals but by microbes that blanket the earth. In today’s sanitized, modern world, the water supply is commonly chlorinated to kill off any bacteria and the earth is so polluted that it is dangerous to eat veg and fruit straight out the ground or off the plant, though I ate some oragnic strawberries from the garden this morning with a bit of rain water on so that’s good B12. So, while we don’t get much B12 in the water anymore, we don’t get much cholera, either, which is a good thing!
B12 is made by anaerobic microorganisms (ie. bacteria that do not require oxygen to live). Anaerobic bacteria are common in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. Your chickens get their B12 from eating their own poop and bacterial contamination of their food. You then eat their secretions or flesh and get secondary B12 – it’s not a whole, primary source. Moreover, the large majority of animal feed is supplemented with B12 because the animals are not grazing naturally. But on eggs, you are far better off taking a B12 supplement once a week than eating those cholesterol bombs. I used to eat 4 a day for breakfast and paid the price. Our physiology maps us closest to the category of frugivore; we simply aren’t designed to eat eggs, and certainly not thrive on them.
Out of interest, where did you get your chicks from?
May 24, 2018 at 8:51 am
I have been eating a fully vegan diet for four months now. I grew up vegetarian, but through my twenties I ate meat for several years (I am still trying to work through that guilt and understand what changed). My partner has also transitioned to a vegan diet, but he is considering reintroducing eggs as a “once in a while” addition to his diet. We have a friend who has a chickens on her land, and she sells the eggs. She doesn’t use chickens for meat, and she doesn’t kill the males or the non-producing females. I am having a hard time with this one because I also really do miss eggs for breakfast as tofu does get quite expensive when eating it often. Is there really any ethical reason not to eat eggs which are produced in a humane manner? Aside from the fact that yes, the chickens are living on her land and aren’t free in the wild, but she also lets them come into her home and sit on her lap like any other pet species. Just looking for some guidance on this!
Feb 09, 2018 at 6:32 pm
Hi Ariel,
There are a number of issues with backyard hens:
1. Where did the hens come from? Are they from hatcheries or are they rescue hens? If the former then these hatcheries are responsible for the grinding up and suffocation of 6 billion male chicks a year. If people want to adopt a hen from a rescue centre and take care of it for life, including all the vets bills then that’s a different story.
2. “The hens people keep to lay eggs have been irreparably harmed by the selective breeding that has forced them to lay an unnatural and unhealthy number of eggs — between 250 to 300 a year — resulting in a host of painful and life-threatening reproductive diseases and premature death. They usually only live 4-6 years and die of issues relating to the hardship of laying eggs. In contrast, undomesticated chickens living in their natural habitat have been known to live 30 years and more. They lay eggs just like other wild birds do — for purposes of reproduction — and only a few clutches per year; around 10 to 15 eggs total on average.
3. Also consider that taking away an egg once laid confuses the hen and prompts her to lay another. Typically hens lay a clutch of eggs and sit on them. Ones that don’t hatch they peck at for the calcium that has been lost in creating the egg(s). So not only does taking the eggs interfere with the natural laying cycle (despite it not being every naturally as they have been selectively bred), it also deprives them of the calcium required to recover from the laying.
4. Just because hens have been bred this way already, or perhaps been rescued from a farm where they were exploited for their eggs, does that mean that we should consider it okay to keep them alive in a nice environment in exchange for their eggs? I personally don’t want to be implicit at any stage of the harm/exploitation, regardless of whether it was initially my wrongdoing. Neither do I want to give other people the impression that it is okay to eat eggs.
As author Charles Horn points out, “If the desire is there to eat the eggs, did that consciously or subconsciously go into the decision to adopt in the first place? If so, the intention was never just one of providing refuge; it was also one of exploitation.”
5. The idea that we are wasting food by not taking the eggs is cultural conditioning. Eggs are not there for us to collect to eat; they serve a purpose to the animal and we should not enslave the animal and exploit the animal for its eggs. Of course, if you were starving with nothing to eat, to survive you would eat the eggs. But this is not the scenario we face. Eggs are very unhealthy, as science shows. So if we don’t need to eat eggs, and they aren’t healthy, then why eat them? If someone wants to rescue a chicken and let it run wild on their land, that’s a moral deed. But it should not be conditional on continuing to benefit from the same immoral circumstance the hen was initial bred.
I hope this offers some food for thought.
Feb 09, 2018 at 8:45 pm
Have you every actually raised chickens? I am perfectly OK with the choice of not eating eggs, but the birds, regardless of how they were bred or where they came from, deserve to live right? Are you advocating for wiping out the chicken breeds that have been ‘selectively bred’? If not, is it not better to give them a good home? We chose to raise chickens, not for the eggs, but to enjoy and respect these birds and learn more about their life. They seem to really like it, as they get to roam wherever they want, yet are home and in bed before sundown each day, in a safe place away from dangers, much better than the life in a factory. I am sure there is such thing as rescue birds, but that is not exactly well advertised.
I just feel with such a uncompromising argument you will easily lose folks who may be willing to eat less meat if they have an option such as eggs. Raising your own birds is not for everyone, but for those who can it does remove the cruelty of the business and you can find ways to be very natural in raising them. To some degree, giving too much freedom may be putting them at risk, as we have foxes, who live near by, not to mention the random dog or cat that will take a shot if they can. I truly love my birds, and I actually wish they were a bit less productive as we end up with too many eggs to eat, but that means I can give them to people and reduce the number of egg factory eggs being purchased?
I do appreciate the details on how the egg industry can treat animals badly, but perhaps letting people be more accountable to humane ways of getting food is OK?
Feb 12, 2018 at 5:51 am
I haven’t raised chickens and wouldn’t do so unless I was short on food and facing the prospect of seasonal starvation. It is unnecessary, so I don’t do it. But learning about the biology of chickens doesn’t require one to own one.
I agree with you; the birds deserve to live, and providing a good home to a hen that has been a victim of the egg industry, with an environment as close to what the bird would experience in a natural setting, is a wonderful thing to do. I think rescuing a chicken and giving it the love and protection (in the most natural way possible) is a noble thing to do.
But the majority of people buy hens from hatcheries so they can benefit from the eggs, which means contributing to the gassing and grinding up of billions of male chicks each year, and to selective breeding and unnatural faming conditions that is of detriment to the birds’ health. People should stop buying from hatcheries; that way the breeding of birds for this purpose will slow down and eventually stop.
Also, it is usually questionable as to how heavily the decision to buy a hen is based on the production of eggs. Would people love and care unconditionally for hens if they weren’t getting eggs in return? The backyard chicken trend is a huge problem for animal rescue sanctuaries and the RSPCA now, because when hens stop being productive people don’t want them anymore. In addition, the specialist veterinary care can cost a lot of money and people aren’t prepared to fork and for that and look after a chicken into it’s twilight years – they just want some free eggs.
The reason your hens are so productive is because they have been selectively bred this way, to the detriment of their health. In the same way that certain dog breeds, like the pug, for example, have been selectively bred and consequently end up with a range of health problems that cause the animal suffering.
Hens should be allowed to lay and sit on a clutch, and then peck at the eggs to rejuvenate the body with calcium. The issue with this is that by the time this process has taken place and the clutch has been discarded, the eggs may not be fit for consumption. Are people prepared to to allow this and care for chickens without any eggs in return?
As you note, keeping chickens isn’t easy and natural predators like foxes can be a problem. But can you not see the irony in this? By keeping chickens in a set location, they become an easy target. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/nov/23/urban-chicken-keepers-doing-harm
Moreover, the selective breeding has made it difficult for these domesticated chickens to escape prey: they are slower and lack the attack methods that their red jungle fowl (wild) ancestors have.
I am in no way suggesting you don’t care about your chickens, but when I read over the backyard chicken/hen forums I have to question what came first: the thought of eggs or caring for hens…
Feb 13, 2018 at 10:31 am
Hi Peter, just a short comment to your post; I really like and agree with how well you explained the abuse and/or caring of ‘backyard’ chickens!!! Big thumbs up! As a vegan, I would *only* adopt a rescue chicken in order to give it freedom and a longer live to enjoy. Would not take their eggs, and yes, when they would stop laying eggs or become sick, we would still care for them 🙂 Thank you for your input! Keep it up!
Mar 28, 2018 at 11:08 am
Hi Sandy, thanks for getting in touch, and great to hear that you take this position of putting the care of the animal before the benefit of free eggs. Of course, being vegan would mean you wouldn’t eat the eggs anyway, but I guess some people may think it was okay to take them straight away and then sell them perhaps. I wrote another article specifically about keeping backyard hens. I am not sure if you have read that one yet, but you can read it here if you like https://theplantway.com/backyard-chickens/
Mar 28, 2018 at 1:54 pm
I have chickens on my land & they are lovingly cared for until they are OLD & die of old age. We have had chickens that lived to 10 years old. We have NO rooster so the eggs would go to waste. No guilt & the are amazing.
Apr 29, 2018 at 10:01 pm
I buy eggs from a local farmer friend who takes excellent care of her chickens. They roam freely, eat bugs, etc., and are pets. In fact, her place is a petting farm so kids can learn all about the animals and fosters a love of them. Am I still wrong to buy them?
Sep 30, 2017 at 9:41 pm
I guess it depends what you personally are comfortable with.
My initial questions would be:
What happens to the male chicks born on the farm (that can’t produce eggs)?
What happens to the hens? Are they kept until they die or slaughtered, or killed when it becomes expensive to look after them?
What other animals are on the farm and what are they there for?
Is it a farm that breeds animals for slaughter or is it an animal sanctuary?
Farms are generally a no-no, because while animals may roam on the farm, they are prisoners of that farm and generally not in a natural environment. You might argue that the chickens are technically roaming wild and safer than they would be in their fully natural environment, and that it is different than it would be for cows in a penned in field or sheep in a sty.
Again, farms generally breed to slaughter, but many offer petting opportunities to local families and lambing days for kids, etc. But behind the scenes there is exploitation and unnecessary cruelty that the kids don’t see. I watched the first 5 minutes of Peter and the Farm on Netflix and had to turn it off when he tied a sheep up and shot it in the head without a second thought.
He even likened their existence on his farm to that of prisoners. And this was a documentary that was supposed to be showcasing an lovely farm run by a gentle, old man with some great life lessons to share. Needless enslavement, imprisonment and slaughter is just that, unnecessary.
Oct 01, 2017 at 4:54 pm
I understand the arguments against eating eggs, but I chose to raise a small number (10), not even sure why I was doing it. I am certainly not going to make any money off selling the eggs. My girls are perfectly content rummaging through the backyard, totally unfettered. When the time for them to stop laying eggs, they will continue to run around my yard until it’s their time to go to that great chicken coop…..I have no problem doing what I am doing, for the record.
Aug 03, 2016 at 9:32 pm
There’s an animal sanctuary near where I live that rescues hens. The hens produce eggs and discard them. The sanctuary then sells these eggs to locals. Because there’s no human interference in the menstrual cycle the laying regularity differs greatly from hen to hen, and of course age is a big factor in this too. If there is a local sanctuary/farm like this near you, and these are the only options for your dog to survive healthily, then I don’t see feeding the eggs to your dog as unethical in any way. Dogs can survive healthily on a balanced vegan diet, but in certain cases such as yours, meat cannot be avoided.
Sep 03, 2015 at 7:10 am
OK, I personally want and con survive on a vegan diet but my dog can’t…..furthermore, she has severe food sensitivities and testing showed the only two proteins that were “safe” for her are rabbit and eggs. So that being the case, is the only answer to obtain eggs from a local organic backyard farmer who is not a business per se but sells excess eggs that his own family doesn’t consume? If he has a bird that needs to be euthanized due to old age issues, then isn’t it wasteful to not feed the body to pets?I have been buying organic eggs at the market but as your detailed article shows, organic cage-free is a misnomer. I am at a loss here as to how vegans handle the issue of obtaining meat for pet dogs and cats and sanctuary wildlife that need a meat based diet. Thanks….maybe this issue (pet/wildlife feed) needs it’s own column?
Sep 03, 2015 at 7:01 am
I agree with Peter on this one, because what would be the other option, to put your dog down? And that would be absolutely unethical when you have the means to give him a healthy life using the suggestions that you made.
Sep 03, 2015 at 4:09 pm
O.K. so clearly this is horrible, but in spite of the abuse that goes on, much of the general public will continue to eat meat and eggs etc. because they don’t want to change their diet. Are there other things that can be done to stop the torture of animals.? If the public continues to demand animal food products how can we change the process of producing them? I guess I’m thinking along the lines of Temple Grandin, i.e. make the process more humane. Also protests, boycotts etc.
Feb 12, 2015 at 3:23 am
As a vegan, I can’t stand seeing this type of footage. It’s a real weight off of my shoulders that I am not causing any of this pain and suffering for animals myself. I’m much happier for it.
Feb 09, 2015 at 7:57 pm
My sentiments exactly. When you go vegan you really feel a shift in consciousness as you’re freed from being a part of the suffering.
Feb 10, 2015 at 8:05 am