Homesteading - Is eating eggs cruel and unethical?
There is a lot of negative talk about eggs so lets explore.
I totally agree with some arguments about eggs but ultimately it relates to every single industrialised food including any plant.
If something is raised or grown outside of its natural environment it not only damages the plant and animal, its unhealthy for you and our planet.
It's actually the food system itself that is broken. plants aren't supposed to be mono cropped, sprayed with synthetic chemicals and genetically modified and chickens aren't suppose to be locked inside all day in their own filth.
The problem is we label things in black and white, good or bad. Rather than first looking at the environment.
I personally believe eating eggs is extremelly ethical and really good for you. They are a superfood.
However if the chickens are caged, first of all who still buys this shit. Everytime you do you are promoting that industry you are literally buying into chicken slavery.
Cage eggs are brutal. A chicken lives its whole life inside generally in artificial light, sitting in its own shit generally, being fed rubbish and other things not fit for anything to eat in a space no bigger than a computer. Its proper fucked up.
This industry only exists because people buy them. Same as every exploiting industry on the planet.
After cage eggs there is various degrees of free rage, beware alot of this again is greenwashing, just because it has a picture of a healthy and happy chicken on a farm doesn't mean they are free, do your research. You could even ask to go to the farm if the farmer doesn't want you to its probably because they aren't proud of the way they keep them.
With eggs you really do get what you pay for.
There is also the talk that everytime you eat an egg you are eating a baby chicken.
This is only true if the eggs are fertile, on our homestead as soon as the eggs are fertile the chickens get clucky. Which means they sit on their eggs.
Good luck trying to get any from underneath them they will peck you good and proper.
Any egg that's not fertile is ultimately laid then the chickens go on about their day,
They get pretty lazy here alot of the time just laying the eggs in random places on the ground not even making it to their favourite laying spot.
Once the eggs are layed if you leave it there it will literally rot so i think its fair enough to pick them up and eat the delicious and healthy cholesterol that is in true free range and happy eggs.
Our chickens have 9 acres to roam at Noosa Rural Retreat and at night they put themselves back in their coop and I go and shut the door.
The coop protects them from foxes, wild dogs and cats and any other night predators like owls.
Our chickens are happy as and always want to be around us, if we leave the door open they try to come in the house.
So i actually recommend everyone who has the space get some chickens, the more backyard chicken owners the better as this takes money away from cage farmers.
If you can't have chickens next best step is to barter with friends who do, buy from a farmers market or an organic store.
If you are paying two or three dollars for eggs you are participating in slavery and they wont be good for you.
Good eggs will be atleast $6 plus for a dozen if they are in a shop.
So in closing its the industry that is nasty, eggs and chickens themselves are amazing.
We love our chickens they teach us so many lessons.
We have spent thousands of dollars on getting them everything they need and they are super spoiled just the way they should be.