Vegan Practically

Avian flu has created an egg shortage in the United States and other parts of the world that has driven up prices and reduced supply. And that means it’s getting the attention of consumers of animal products. I’ve seen friends in the US post photos of empty supermarket refrigerators or of egg fridges showing astronomical prices and purchase limits. Now is a good moment to consider both the reasons to avoid eggs and the plant-based alternatives.

Apart from the current crisis driven by avian flu and the requisite culling of infected poultry flocks, there are ethical reasons to avoid eggs. Lots of people think that even if we don’t support animal cruelty, eggs are fine because — unlike broilers — they don’t require killing the chickens. But for most egg-laying hens, that just means a longer life of misery.

Here are some other reasons, besides avian flu and rising costs, to forgo eggs:

1. Chickens in the egg industry live in squalid conditions with thousands of others. As stated by the Vegan Society, “Regardless as to whether they’re in free range or caged farming systems, hens lead an existence of pain and suffering throughout their shortened lives.”
2. Though many factory farming egg operations are “cage-free,” that just means that the chickens are crammed into huge sheds with effectively no access to the outdoors. They are not happy chickens running around the yard.
3. Chickens in these conditions have myriad health issues, from respiratory issues caused by the ammonia in the air to broken bones and infected open wounds.
4. These crammed conditions make it impossible for the hens to engage in natural behaviours such as dust-bathing, nest-building, feeding and foraging. And the confinement causes them to aggress upon one another. The solution: de-beaking, whereby their beaks are cut off with a guillotine-like hot blade and no anesthetic so they don’t peck at one another.
5. Chicks born into the egg industry are separated into male and female. The females are, of course, destined to become egg producers. The males have no use, so they are either gassed to death or macerated to death in a grinder shortly after birth.
6.  In these conditions, fecal matters gets into the shells, which is why factory-farmed eggs (which are the vast majority of eggs consumed) are subject to salmonella contamination.
7. Chicken farming is a major source of pollution in rivers and waterways. The phosphates in the run-off causes algae-blooms and compromises the delicate eco-systems of these waterways.

For more information about what happens to egg-laying hens in industrialized farming, see “21 Things the Egg Industry Doesn’t Want You to See” and “The Egg Industry” and “The Free Range Myth.”

You can also consider alternatives such as Just Egg, Yo Egg (which actually has a runny yolk), or make your own tofu scramble.

If you’re worried about baking, there are lots of ways to bake without eggs using rising agents, like baking powder and baking soda, or ingredients for binding and moisture, like bananas, apple sauce, flax seeds and water, or silken tofu. I’ve made all sorts of delicious baked goods without eggs (or dairy). And of course, most recipes for bread, which is an absolute baking miracle and delight, don’t require eggs.