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Unless you're referring to the very new "no-kill" eggs [0] (which AFAIK are only on sale in Germany), all eggs involve harming an animal. And that's before we g
by J-dawg 8y ago
Unless you're referring to the very new "no-kill" eggs [0] (which AFAIK are only on sale in Germany), all eggs involve harming an animal. And that's before we get to any concerns about how the laying females are treated.
I eat eggs myself, so I'm not preaching. I just sometimes wonder whether I should.
[0] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/22/worlds-first-no-kill-eggs-go-on-sale-in-berlin https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/22/worlds-f...
- peteradio 8y agoI'd encourage you to find a local source. Truly an insignificant cost difference. You can see how the sausage is made and make your peace with it. The more bold could even get a couple chickens 3-4 would have a small family drowning in eggs. Maybe it's not the same everywhere but there are tons of people with chickens in the Midwest.
- J-dawg 8y agoWith respect, that doesn't really affect the point I was making. While I agree with you, the people/companies who supply those chickens to the local supplier still have no use for the male chicks. So even if you're buying eggs laid by hens that have a great life, you're still causing animals to be killed. Like I said, I have no right to be preachy. I just want more people to think clearly about this stuff. I hope the "no-kill" method becomes widespread.
- peteradio 8y agoOh I see, I did not consider roosters at all. Not really sure what you do about them. They are nice to have for protection in an open range setup. What exactly do they do with roosters in the no kill method?
- J-dawg 8y agoThey are never born/hatched - the new method allows the sex of an embryo to be determined while it's still in the egg. Effectively they are "aborted". Some roosters would obviously be preserved as breeding stock, just as they are now.
- rootusrootus 8y agoI get my eggs from my sister-in-law's little flock of chickens, and they don't seem the least bit harmed by it. What am I missing?
- kawsper 8y agoWhat happened to their brothers?
- sslayer 8y agoThey were yummy.
- rootusrootus 8y agoI've never asked, but she kept at least one.
- cromiium 8y agoI believed eggs were not fertilized, no?
- J-dawg 8y agoThe issue here is the eggs that are fertilized, to create the laying hens. The males are a waste product, and are discarded. The only way to determine the gender of a chick (until very recently!) is a visual check done after the animal is born.
- cromiium 8y agoHuh never thought about that. Thanks!
- benj111 8y agoSurely in a non commercial setting (as I understand this situation to be) motivation matters? If primary motivation is eggs then maybe the question is legitimate. If they're pets? Not so much. Or you get into a situation where harvesting crops is morally wrong because it deprives animals of food. It does deprive them of food, but to me it seems theres enough distance between the 2 things, that harvesting isn't morally implicated.