Eating Fertilized Eggs and Vegetarianism

[Happy Dawg]

I agree, I just have to keep telling myself that

 

[cackalacky]

She is definitely leaning vegan. However, I'm concerned about her being able to manage such a restrictive diet at such a young age so I've manipulated things a little bit so that she is willing to eat eggs and dairy products. The organic milk carton has a website with lots of happy cow pictures of them in the pasture. And she talked to the egg man at the farmer's market and he confirmed that they raise their chickens in a coop. Once our girls start laying she will eat eggs from them since she knows they are spoiled rotten and live happy lives as long as they aren't fertilized. She can't deal with the caging and debeaking of commercial egg farming (it is rather awful). While her diet may not meet an adult's standards of ethical eating it works for her (and me) for now. If happy cow pictures satisfy her I'll take it as long as I can get it.

I agree that once an egg is removed from the nest it's just an egg but good luck convincing her of that. I guess that I will find a home for my new rooster. He's a 6 week old blue wheaten ameraucana from StormStryder Poultry. I bet he'll be a beautiful rooster when he's grown.

Oh well. Kids. What are ya gonna do?

Oh yeah, Happy Dawg, what in the world happened?

 

[AccidentalFarm]

cackalacky- just make sure your daughter gets a good multi-vitamin in her everyday and she ought to be fine with the veg/vegan thing. My daughter is doing the vegetarian thing right now and she's 9. It may or may not last, I don't mind either way. She does not have a problem with the eggs, however. Thank Goodness! One wonderful thing, I think, about them trying this out is that they pay so much attention to their diets. My daughter is learning so much about what her body needs to stay healthy and how various foods benefit or harm her. She also is concerned about animal welfare (the basis for her vegetarianism), so also is learning many things in that regard.

 

[Happy Dawg]

All it took to keep me from eggs was the first time an egg was cracked open in front of me that was GOING to be a chick

The second was my mothers stupid husband and a neighbor brought home a truck load of chickens and proceeded to butcher them, I just happened to be in the kitchen making a pineapple upside down cake, it started raining so they brought the operartion inside

It was gross
the feathers never did get plucked properly, so every Sunday when my mother made chicken it made me turn green. I just could not get the images out of my head for years. The smell, the blood the mess...icky. Not to mention I could not eat the cake afterwards either :|

 

[V Chic Chick]

I'm a 15 year old vegetarian girl. I have no problem eating fertilised eggs, really on the principle that there is only so many chickens that the world can support, and at least the roo is being kept around. You need to make your daughter realise that if she was to insist on the rooster not being kept with the hens then he would have to be butchered as there simply aren't enough homes for roos.

 

[BJ_BOBBI_JO]

For many years I would not eat a fertilized chicken egg because it seemed like chicken-abortion to me and I had this fear of hurting the unborn baby chic if I fried or boiled the egg.

I know that sounds silly and is subject to harsh comments but that is how I felt.

I now know that is not the case. I now know that if I gather the eggs every day and put them into the fridge right away then they wont turn into baby chickens. But it still bothers me some but I can get over it now.

 

[chickchair]

Actually, Vegan is what's been stated, and eggs aren't an issue since they're not part of the diet.
Now fertilized eggs are not Kosher.....so orthodox Jewish folks will not eat them, however in my mind any single or two celled possibility isn't something evolved enough to be concerned about hurting...Even a vegan may injest such on a plant organism, and not feel invasive to the life cycle...

Just my take on the issue..

 

[Jsto]

Just thought I'd stop by and give my input. I'm somewhere between a plain ol' vegetarian and a vegan. Vegans love to laugh at me, but I just have such a hard time giving up cheese and eggs! Basically, to me, it's not about political statements but your own personal feelings. I feel better knowing the food I am eating came from an animal who was allowed to have a happy and healthy life. So, I go local and organic, generally from people I know. Once my chicks arrive and start laying, I will feel even better eating the eggs. Personally, I'm not sure how I would feel about a fertilized egg. I don't like the idea, but at the end of the day, a fresh egg that is fertilized is not really any more a chick than an unfertilized egg. Still, I specifically made sure I didn't get a roo because the idea kind of freaks me out, so I can understand where your daughter is coming from.

I wouldn't force the issue with your daughter because, after all, she is 14 and I know that when I was 14, if my mother said white, I'd say black. My advice is just to help her gather information on the subject and let her come to her own determination. Sit down and speak to her like an adult, trying to avoid any hysterics on her part. I wouldn't recommend, like someone suggested, lying and saying the roo is castrated because that will just cause a fall out in the future. If she wants to speak to someone who has similar feelings and eating habits, I'd be happy to have a chat. I know I felt a bit outside the box when I first started, thinking no one understood, even though that was so not the case.

Also, if you're worried about her getting all that she needs, I want to back up what someone said about a good multi-vitamin. There is also a new enriched orange juice I found the other day that I'm loving so far and is much better than having to remember to pop a pill daily (although I still stick to the multivitamin as well). Generally I prefer fresh squeezed, but this enriched OJ is by Minute-Maid and has 16 added vitamins and minerals, with no added sweetners. I've been drinking a glass in the morning because some days, if I didn't get enough protein or something the day before, I feel sluggish and lethargic. Also--Boca makes fantastic faux-meat

I wouldn't advise eating it until it's been a few months since she's had the real stuff, though, because it just does not compare. It's full of protein and if you grill it or fry it to make it a bit crispy, it's a decent substitute. One last thing before I shut up (could this post be any longer?): beans, beans, beans!! Refried, black, lima, whatever. Beans are a veggie's best friend

Sorry if I've rambled and gone completely off topic. I just know how hard of a time my mom had when I decided to go the veg route. She worried about my health constantly and we had a bit of a rough start finding recipes that appeased both my health needs and picky eating habits.

 

[sdeneen2001]

Chickchair -
Have to disagree on the Kosher comment. I work with several people who keep Kosher and they have told me that, although there are a few rabbis out there that say "no fertilized eggs", most hold to the older standard of "no embyo development". In most places, eggs come from chickens who have access to roosters. My co-workers buy eggs from me but, when I had a rooster, they would crack each egg into a bowl to check it first. Also, they would check each egg for blood spots and remove them since eating blood is a no-no.

How is everybody at Wise-acres?
Deneen

 

[Sandyki]

Once you have cracked the egg into a bowl to see if it's fertilized or not, haven't you defeated the purpose? The egg ISN'T going to hatch!

As to the original questions, no, I have not had experience with 14 yr olds dictating what would be served for dinner.

Sandy