Vegans- do you think it is OK to eat free range eggs?!
Answers: Im vegaterian, 18 yrs. I am interested to know, why dont vegans eat eggs or milk if it has come from happy hens and cows.
'Free range' doesn't mean much nowadays... it just means they aren't battery farmed. So they still can, and in most cases are, kept by the thousands in filthy conditions. They may have access to the outdoors but due to the pecking order, most will not get to see the light of day... something which wouldn't happen naturally because hens usually would stay in groups of no more than 10. The tips of their beaks can still be chopped off so they don't injure eachother from the stress. There is also the fact that male chicks are useless to the egg industry so are killed at birth, so for every female egg-laying chicken born, a male chick has been killed because it can't be put to good 'use'. The female hens are also killed for their meat once their egg production dwindles... so by supporting the egg industry you're supporting the suffering and eventual death of a hen.
As for milk... as is often said, dairy cows are the hardest worked animals on the farm. Cows only produce milk when they have young to feed. Naturally cows would bear young once every 2-4 years but this just isn't profitable enough to farmers so they are impregnated every year and then when a calf is born, it will be taken away from it's mother so it doesn't drink the milk which is rightfully theirs but sold to humans instead. To make her even more profitable the cow will be impregnated as soon as possible so she has the double burden of producing milk and nurturing a calf inside her at the same time. This causes extreme stress on the legs which is why 50% of cows become lame from the stress put on their legs. Also, cows have been bred and manipulated over the years and now they produce ridiculous amounts of milk... the reason why 1 in 3 cows will develop mastitis. If she gives birth to a female then the calf will have much the same life as her mother... un uncomfortable existence, having her calfs taken away from her year after year until she's finally 'spent' and killed for her meat just a quarter of the way through her natural life. Male calfs are either killed at birth or sent to the veal market in europe to be slaghtered for their meat.
I actually think the egg and dairy industry are worse than the meat industry... they just prolong an animal's suffering to make use of their bodies before killing them anyway.
Please excuse the answer below me... I completely resent the kind of vegan that's only interested in a label. For a true vegan it's never "as simple as that". I don't refuse to eat eggs and dairy because I want to be labelled a vegan (most people feel negatively towards us anyway so why would I want to??)... I'm labelled a vegan because I refuse to eat eggs and dairy, precisely due to the suffering involved.
"Free range" doesn't mean anything in particular. It could just mean that the barn door is open, and the birds could therefore go out if they wanted, though they rarely do. Captive birds tend to stay put.
Vegans don't eat animal produce. You are an ovo-lacto vegetarian.
If you kept hens you may as well eat their eggs. Once the egg is laid it would only get thrown away, since they are not fertilised, so why waste it?
Vegetarians don't eat meat and vegans don't eat meat or any animal produce or bi-products ie.milk,cheese,eggs etc they also don't wear leather. Vegans see it as exploiting animals,that is why they don't eat eggs or milk etc even if they are happy hens and cows.
I wouldn't be vegan if I ate any eggs.
I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan, but I can answer this.
Vegans do not consume eggs or milk (even free range), because it is still exploiting the animal for our own wants. Think for a second about all animals being equal, horses, cows, humans... etc. Would you want a dog milking you?
Also, a cows milk is intended for a cow. Taking this milk deprives a calf of what is theirs.
Even though animal products are free range, the animals can still be treated poorly. There aren't a whole lot of regulations regarding free range, so chickens could be allowed outside for only a limited amount of time, and then put back into battery cages.
Why would an animal, being used as a slave labor force, be happy about their situation? The animals themselves may not know any better, but we do.
Also, there are health benefits to stopping dairy and egg consumption.
Vegans... feel free to correct me, as I am a vegetarian speaking on your behalf.
I'm sorry, unless you do raise a hen, as a pet with love and affection, there is no such thing as milk or eggs from "happy animals". Having milking machines hooked up to your udders is never comfortable, even if you got to walk outside that day. Heck, even old-style milking is no fun. Cow's milk is meant for their babies, not us. They are not happy to give it to us.
As for eggs, farmers do not walk around chasing the hens so they can pick up any eggs that drop, that would be impractical. Even the most "humane" egg producers exploit, harm, and eventually kill their hens. There are no happy animals in modern billion-dollar agribusiness.
well, I'm a vegan and I obviously don't eat eggs.
why?
why don't we eat dairy? because vegans don't eat/ use animals/animal byproducts. as simple as that.
If someone eats "free-range" eggs, they most definately aren't vegan.
What makes you think that "free-range" chickens are happy.
It's called marketing, don't fall for it so easily.
I don't eat animal products because the chicken didn't lay the egg for me.
Happy hens and cows are rare.
To live a healthy life, animal products are not required.
Why waste resources feeding cows and chicken when the land used to produce their food could have been cultivated for human consumption.
Just to clear up a big misconception that I keep seeing pop up here from time to time, egg-laying hens are NEVER killed for meat. These hens are a different species of fowl than the broiler chickens that are raised for meat, and are unfit for human consumption.
This is why the males are simply killed at birth. Otherwise we would be eating them.
And with regard to the original question, free-range eggs are still coming from mistreated animals. They are still kept in battery cages during egg-laying hours, and may only be allowed out for an hour or two a day. There are no specific guidelines for eggs to be considered "free-range".
Vegans don't eat eggs. It has nothing to do with the happiness of the hens. Vegans just do not eat products that come from animals.
I'm a vegan and eat eggs and drink milk. I really don't care if they come from happy critters.