4 ms·

Oysters are actually a weird case for some vegans, in that a lot of the arguments made for veganism don't really apply. They don't have brains, so there's not r

by abeppu 16y ago

Oysters are actually a weird case for some vegans, in that a lot of the arguments made for veganism don't really apply. They don't have brains, so there's not really a chance for suffering, and they can be farmed in an eco-friendly way. Peter Singer, the animal rights philosopher that vegans are always quoting, has at points said that he doesn't object to eating oysters. http://www.slate.com/id/2248998/ http://www.slate.com/id/2248998/

steve19 16y ago
Unfertilized chicken eggs don't have brains either, right? They are still "unclean".
- kadavy 16y ago
  The issue with them for most vegans is probably that hens are usually kept in inhumane conditions.
- abeppu 16y ago
  I eat eggs sometimes, but I'm not proud of it. The moral considerations are very different from oysters because of how they're produced. Producing a lot of eggs requires a lot of hens. Having a lot of hens (and not roosters) involves killing a lot of male chicks. Producing any volume of eggs economically requires having a lot of hens in not that much space, which typically involves things like clipping beaks. This also produces a lot of concentrated waste which can often cause environmental damage. Keeping a lot of hens fed requires that you give them a lot of feed, which requires agricultural resources which might otherwise have produced food to be eaten by people. So eating eggs entails killing and torturing birds, producing toxic waste and using agricultural resources inefficiently.
- flogic 16y ago
  I think that has to do with the manner in which the layers are cared for. Chickens and cows don't produce eggs or milk at the same rate throughout their lives. So farmers cull them once their production drops below the economical point. Also the majority of the males are culled since they're not producers. My grandfather thought it might be worth while to breed dairy cows with a meat producing aspect due to the 25% yearly cull rate.

by abeppu 16y ago

steve19 16y ago

Unfertilized chicken eggs don't have brains either, right? They are still "unclean".

kadavy 16y ago
The issue with them for most vegans is probably that hens are usually kept in inhumane conditions.
abeppu 16y ago
I eat eggs sometimes, but I'm not proud of it. The moral considerations are very different from oysters because of how they're produced. Producing a lot of eggs requires a lot of hens. Having a lot of hens (and not roosters) involves killing a lot of male chicks. Producing any volume of eggs economically requires having a lot of hens in not that much space, which typically involves things like clipping beaks. This also produces a lot of concentrated waste which can often cause environmental damage. Keeping a lot of hens fed requires that you give them a lot of feed, which requires agricultural resources which might otherwise have produced food to be eaten by people. So eating eggs entails killing and torturing birds, producing toxic waste and using agricultural resources inefficiently.
flogic 16y ago
I think that has to do with the manner in which the layers are cared for. Chickens and cows don't produce eggs or milk at the same rate throughout their lives. So farmers cull them once their production drops below the economical point. Also the majority of the males are culled since they're not producers. My grandfather thought it might be worth while to breed dairy cows with a meat producing aspect due to the 25% yearly cull rate.