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A question that I get with surprising frequency[br]from non-vegans and vegans alike is whether it's

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ethical to consume eggs from a rescued[br]or backyard chicken. It goes something like this.

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“My friend has her own chickens and[br]she loves them and takes really good care

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of them and they’re happy and healthy and[br]they lay eggs all the time that aren’t fertilized.

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So, wouldn’t it be okay for her to eat them?[br]I mean if the chicken just drops the egg and

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walks away? Or carries it to my friend and[br]offers the egg to her with outstretched wings?

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Or leaves a little note on the ground saying[br]‘please take this thing that came out

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of my vagina/anus and put it in your mouth?"

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Okay I may have made up those last two.

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But you get the idea. There’s even a new dietary[br]distinction called “veggan.”

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(and I have no idea if that’s how it’s pronounced,[br]but that’s what it’s going to be today).

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So, let’s finally tackle this beast. What[br]is the ethical concern with eating eggs

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from rescued or backyard hens?

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Hi it's Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome[br]to another vegan nugget. I’ve answered this

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question briefly in the Q&A for a speech I[br]gave, which you can watch here. But today

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I’m going to go into greater depth. And[br]I’ll warn you ahead of time,

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I'm rather snarky in this video.

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First off, let’s address this veggan thing.[br]Veggans, according to dietitian Jessica Cording,

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“follow the ‘rules’ of a vegan diet[br]— they avoid animal and dairy products and

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eat a plant-based diet —[br]they just also eat eggs.”

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Yes, because something that comes[br]out of the sphincter of a bird

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is definitely NOT an animal product.

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Instagram is aflutter with the new hashtag[br]and several articles have already been written

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on vegganism, one of which includes this gem[br]from registered dietitian Alissa Rumsey, a

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spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition[br]and Dietetics: “As people become more interested

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and aware of how food affects both their health[br]as well as the environment, plant-based diets,

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including veganism, are becoming more and[br]more popular and mainstream. Veganism may

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be appealing to people, but many find that[br]it is too restrictive.”

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Because once you rule out the flesh of animals’[br]bodies the secretions and objects that come

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out of their orifices, there’s just really[br]nothing left to eat!

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So why do veggans feel compelled to consume[br]the shelled menstruation of another species?

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Protein, of course.

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I mean, where else can you get it?

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Food writer Vicki Anne Hadley, featured in The Daily Mail, was vegan for a whole 6 months before adding

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eggs back into her diet when her friend,

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who has her own chickens,[br]offered her an egg dish.

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Hadley says, “I am very into fitness and[br]have a very active lifestyle so I wanted to

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ensure that I would be getting enough protein[br]in my diet.”

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Never mind the fact that the USDA has deemed[br]it illegal for the egg industry to advertise

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eggs as “a protein-rich food” if they’re[br]using government money. It’s also illegal

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to say they “contribute nutritionally,”[br]are “healthful” or even “contribute

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healthful components.” They can’t say[br]eggs are “good for you,” “healthy”

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or an “important part of well-balanced,[br]healthy diet.” Or even “safe.”

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Eggs were even found to have the same atherosclerotic[br]effect as cigarettes in a 2012 study.

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However, the egg industry has been trying[br]valiantly for decades to portray their product

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as healthy, rarely letting legal restrictions[br]hold them back and by and large succeeding

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in their goal. To hear the entire sordid conspiracy[br]behind eggs, see my video The Great Egg Conspiracy:

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Lies, Corruption & Kevin Bacon, linked here[br]and below.

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Long story short, eggs are one of the worst[br]things you can put in your body.

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However, as you may know and as I always emphasize,[br]veganism at its core is not about health.

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It can be the healthiest way to eat, but poor[br]health doesn’t necessarily mean poor ethics.

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So even if eggs are horrendous for our health,[br]what’s the ethical issue with

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eggs from backyard or rescued chickens?

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If you don’t already know, chickens on standard[br]farms and even free-range farms are kept indoors

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in cramped, filthy conditions and forced to[br]produce an unnaturally large amount of eggs,

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robbing their body of essential nutrients[br]and leading to premature death. If they don’t

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die from exhaustion, disease, or malnutrition,[br]they’re sent to slaughter when their production

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declines, typically around 68-72 weeks of[br]age, though their

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life expectancy is around 8-10 years.

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The most horrifying aspect of eggs is that[br]male layer chicks are ground up alive or suffocated

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by the hundreds of millions every year.[br]These are brand new, fluffy baby chicks,

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thrown into grinders while they’re still[br]conscious.

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So, all of that horror aside, what about the[br]idyllic backyard and rescue chickens, living

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out their lives outside in the grass, free[br]to roam and peck as nature intended?

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There are several aspects to look at here.[br]First, where did these beloved chickens come

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from? Did your friend -- because everyone[br]who asks me this refers to their friend or

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some hypothetical situation, so I’ll follow[br]suit: did they buy them from someone involved

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in the animal products industry? If so, that[br]act in itself is supporting cruelty. But let’s

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say your friend rescued their chickens[br]from a sanctuary.

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Another consideration is, does your friend[br]really have the resources and know-how to

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care for chickens? Backyard chickens seem[br]to be the new urban hipster accessory.

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They are to hipsters what the purse[br]Chihuahua is to socialites.

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Many people who excitedly bring home their[br]chickens don’t realize the high cost of

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properly caring for them and either end up[br]offering a sub-par or even low-quality home

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for their chickens, turning around and passing[br]them off on someone else, or even

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letting them go as if they’ll return[br]to the chicken wild.

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But let’s say your friend knows their chicken[br]stuff and has the finances and land.

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Is it okay to take the eggs then?

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What not everyone knows is that chickens will[br]cannibalize their own eggs. This is an important

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practice that returns vital nutrients to their[br]system lost with egg production. Making an

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egg is a serious endeavor involving an extreme[br]loss of calcium and pressure on the hen’s body.

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This is part of why hens in the egg industry[br]die so early. In addition, taking a hen's egg

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away sends the signal to her body to make[br]a replacement. So the more eggs we take away

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the more she’ll produce, thus continually[br]depleting her body.

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If your friend’s hens don’t seem interested[br]in eating the egg, they can always crack it

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a little, which usually let’s the hen know[br]it’s not going to turn in to a baby and

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is available for eating. This is something[br]I did when I volunteered at SASHA Farm Animal

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Sanctuary. And trust me, there[br]was nothing left.

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But what if your friend has cracked the egg[br]and the hens still won’t eat it. Can they

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then, finally, serve it up over easy, despite,[br]of course, the health consequences?

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Isn't an omelete ethical at this point?

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Here’s what it comes done to. Hens do not[br]make eggs for us. They are not ours. And this

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insane drive to justify something – anything[br]– that came from an animal because, god forbid

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we not eat something that came out[br]of someone else, is part of

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the addict behavior of animal product consumption.

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If you think that’s extreme, take in this[br]excerpt from an article in The Guardian quoting

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Isobel Davies, co-founder of Hen Nation, an[br]“ethical egg” farm.

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Hold on, you couldn’t see me because[br]the image was up. An “ethical egg” farm.

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Let's proceed.

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Davies says, “I get so many emails from[br]vegans about our eggs. One woman said she

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couldn’t sleep the night before trying them[br]because she was so excited. “

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Linda Turvey, who runs the Hen Heaven sanctuary[br]says, “I get calls from all over the country.

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Virtually all the eggs are going to vegans[br]or their friends and family. I recently got a call from

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a new vegan who works out in the gym and wanted to order 80 eggs a week for protein."

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She also recalled one man from London[br]who caught the train to Horsham, a bus to

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Henfield and then walked a mile and a half[br]to the Sussex sanctuary just to get

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some eggs for his vegan daughter.

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Now if that’s not addict behavior, I don’t[br]know what is.

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I hope this video was helpful. If you want[br]to learn more about eggs, check out the videos

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below, including my egg video for kids. I’d[br]love to hear your thoughts on the backyard

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chicken debate and the veggan phenomenon.[br]Let me know what you think in the comments.

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If you liked this golden egg of a nugget,[br]do give the video a thumbs up and share it

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around to answer this oft-asked question.[br]If you’re new here, I’d love to have you

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as a subscriber. I put out fresh content covering[br]all aspects of veganism every Monday, Wednesday,

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and some Fridays. To help support Bite Size[br]Vegan’s educational efforts, please see

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the support links below or click on the Nugget[br]Army icon or the link in the sidebar.

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Now go live vegan, stop eating sphincter food,[br]and I’ll see you soon.

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That was my favorite part. “They avoid animal[br]products. And they eat eggs.”

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When you’re eating something that came out[br]… of an animal…

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…the animal produced it. It’s literally…[br]an animal product.

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It’s something that literally fell … out[br]of an animal …

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… I don’t understand how this is not connecting.