EGGS ARE TORTURE

With the recall of eggs in this country causing fear and concern, I thought this would be a good time to discuss why I DON'T EVER EAT EGGS. Salmonella is the least of my concern, but the conditions of farms that raise chickens increase the likelihood of outbreaks such as this. This morning the media showed a short clip of a chicken in these conditions and you can immediately notice something is a little different about her than the ones you would see if you were to look into someone's back yard farm. The chicken had her beak clipped off. The front of her beak is distorted by a cruel practice called debeaking, which cuts through bone, cartilage and soft tissue. This is done since these birds are placed in such unnatural conditions that they will peck each other and do harm. The unnatural conditions also cause their feet to grow into the cage wires and lay eggs more often due to stress of artificial lighting. Their bodies are covered with bruises and abrasions, have feather and psychological disorders since there are commonly 4 hens in a 16-inch square wire cage.

A chicken at Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary.

Before I went vegan, I thought the animals used to produce eggs and dairy were unharmed since they weren’t being killed. I was so wrong. The consumption of eggs not only supports this type of cruelty, but these chickens are killed for their meat as well, after one year, since their bodies are so taxed they are considered “spent” and do not produce enough eggs for profit. Many people believe that egg laying hens are the most abused of all farm animals. The torture they endure is unimaginable. The conditions of the farms produce an unimaginable amount of waste as well. There is nothing ok about these farms.

Male chickens being dumped in the trash (literally) since no use to chicken farming. Photo compliments of Farm Sanctuary.

“Free range” or “cage free” eggs are really no better. These chickens may not be in the wire cages, but they are not free, they are still debeaked and suffer from bruises and abrasions and their bodies are just as taxed producing all those eggs in such close quarters and they too, will be killed for their meat at the end. I once visited one of these “cage free” egg farms, and there is no daylight for these chickens. The farm was under so much security and fear of exposure that cops were called on me, when I was visiting as a representative of a restaurant purchasing the eggs. They didn’t want people to know the truth. Even backyard chickens are not cruelty-free, since the males born in this industry are usually killed right away.

Photo compliments of Farm Sanctuary

Eggs are not necessary in your diet. They are not needed for cooking or baking. Tofu makes a great scramble, and eggs in baking are easily replaced. Even if they weren’t, to me it is not worth the suffering of others just for a pleasurable food experience. Please consider taking eggs out of your diet if you have not already or at least cut back considerable. For every one egg consumed, a hen has to endure hours of absolute misery.

Photo taken at Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary

Please support farm sanctuaries that give animals a second chance of a truly free and wondrous life. In Oregon, Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary and Out to Pasture are both great places to support. Farm Sanctuary has farms on the east and west coast and does a lot about education concerning animals used in agriculture. The Humane Society of the United States also has a lot of great information about the cruelty of farm animals (and other animals) on their website as well.