Diamonds and eggs. You ever thought about just how much they have in common? No? Hear me out, and do me a favor … if you are reading this, do so with an open mind and please, read the whole post. It won’t even take you four whole minutes. And if you leave some nasty comment that has nothing to do with what I’m writing about, I’ll just toss you aside like a rotten egg. So there. Moving on … I’ve written about this before. Or at the very least, I’ve touched on the subject of eggs in a plant-based or vegan diet which are NOT the same thing. Yes, I’ll get to that in a minute, but first, a bit about eggs.
I’ve heard a lot of debate lately over whether or not vegans should allow eggs into their diet. Some say absolutely not quoting the whole all-or-nothing approach, even hinting that allowing the occasional egg (or something else that’s animal derived) is not inline with the ethical platform so many vegans bark about. But, at the same time, I hear others say that hens producing eggs is a natural thing. It’s not forced. It doesn’t harm them. And if left unfertilized the eggs are just that. Eggs. CAVEAT we are going off the assumption that the eggs in question are the product of humanely-raised hens. And no, “free range” doesn’t even remotely mean that the hens are humanely-raised …
The USDA defines “free range” eggs as those “produced by hens housed in a building, room, or area that allows for unlimited access to food, water, and continuous access to the outdoors during their laying cycle.” Bear in mind, access means nothing. It only means that they can go outside … and in most cases, any images of hens flocking around a lush grassy area isn’t exactly what’s provided.
And we should also abide by the assumption (at least for the sake of this article) that “egg people” are choosing to purchase are local … however …
The USDA defines locally-produced eggs as those “originating from a source flock(s) located less than 400 miles from the processing facility or within the state in which the eggs originated from and were processed in.” Ummm … you do the math. There’s some pretty big states out there, just sayin’.
But I’m not getting on that soapbox today so back to the whole “should vegans allow eggs into their diet or not,” … choosing to adhere to a vegan diet means you also adhere to the lifestyle—you don’t eat anything derived from an animal, anything with a face … and you don’t wear leather, etc. Following a plant-based diet means your meals are just that, plant based … so 90 plus percent of what you eat comes from plants. Hence, the “based” part.
Me, well, for a long time I have always eaten egg whites, but never the yolk. I do, and did, however also use the whites in some of my cooking but I only buy pasture-raised eggs. (Google it.) Yes, I used to eat a lot of hard boiled eggs, and there was a time when I scrambled five (yes five) egg whites every single morning with tomatoes and spinach. But I’ve never been a fan. I ate them because I needed protein, I didn’t eat meat and my body was out of whack. Regardless, I stopped eating eggs a few years ago because I thought it was the right thing to do. You know, the whole carbon footprint thing, CO2 emissions, etc. But, as it turns out … everything has a carbon footprint and the things people use as substitutes for eggs in their cooking just might be worse for the environment.
Case in point … diamonds. I’m not a fan. Yes, they are beautiful. Yes, I have owned plenty of diamonds in my day but I have a major issue with the diamond trade and made a decision a few years back not to ever purchase a diamond again. But then someone asked me if I would buy (or wear if someone gave it to me) other stones, and I said yes, of course, and proceeded to list out my favorites and also said that I’d consider lab-created diamonds. And then she asked me if I’d considered the fact that other stones also have illegal and unethical sourcing and lab-created stones might be worse for the environment than not. Ughhhh.
Back to the egg part … should vegans eat eggs? Eh, I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that people need to stop being so all-or-nothing and do what works for them. If you follow a vegan diet for ethical reasons and health reasons but find your body needs eggs, well, then eat a f’ing egg. Be a flexitarian. Because whether you choose to follow a 100 percent vegan diet or follow a plant-based diet like myself and allow a little “flex” every now and then, pasture-raised eggs are a pretty damn good thing to flex your mouth muscles around (ohhh, that sounded bad).
Thoughts? Let’s start a discussion … I’d love to hear what you think.
The Flexitarian Rx 
I think we all have to find our own path, whether all-in for ethical reasons or finding a balance that sits well with our own conscience.
For me, I stopped eating red meat decades ago primarily thinking about the impact of the amount of both grain and water it takes to produce a pound of meat, especially compared to just consuming the grain ourselves. Over the years, my own and my husband’s and other family members’ health concerns came into play, especially in regard to saturated fat. My husband loves meat, so our compromise to our mostly plant and (wild) seafood diet is a once a week or two lean local chicken to keep him happy.
The animal products I buy are all produced in our town or one within a few minutes drive. I recognize that I am living in beautiful Vermont with an abundance of local farms producing just about anything I could want, plants and meats and organic to boot. But other folks find it difficult to find, say, a true locally raised chicken. We all have to do the best we can, and that is always a pecking order.
Having said all that, I’ve always loved the Emerson quote: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” So when we went with our daughter and future son-in-law to sample all the entrees and desserts for their wedding, I tasted everything, even the prime rib I found difficult to chew. And when my sister made my grandmother’s tourtierre, a meat pie, I had a big bite just to get transported in time.
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