lebijourouge wrote:
I am not vegan.  Hell, I am not even vegetarian.  I went through a vegetarian stage when in college but that is about it.  Many of my friends are vegetarian and/or vegan...in college my roommate was vegan.  I am against big industry farming.  I only eat meat a few times a week and I buy my dairy and meat from the farmer's market and a local CSA group.  I support local farming.  I am an aspiring homesteader myself and I have an immense respect for those who embrace a self sustaining lifestyle.

I recently had a discussion with a (new) vegan friend that sort of rubbed me the wrong way.  She was telling me that it was unethical to consume the eggs of your own backyard chickens.  I tried to explain to her that the difference between eggs produced on a commercial level and the eggs from your own pet chickens was infinitesimal, but she wouldn't have it.  How is eating the egg of an animal you lovingly care for (that is going to lay that egg whether you are there or not) a crime against nature?


IMHO, the quality of eggs produced by a typical backyard chicken is usually distinctly better than that produced by battery hens.  Battery hens are fed a basic layer feed but backyard chicken tend to have a more varied & complex diet (in addition to layer feed, food scraps and if allowed to free range, bugs & greenery).  IIRC BYC eggs tend to have more omega . . . 3, 6?  I can't remember.  I'm not sure if it means anything but BYC egg yolks tend to be deeper yellow/orange compared to commercial farm eggs.  We used to have a great source for BYC eggs and thought they tasted great.  My son was young at the time and said he could taste the "happy" in them (happy chickens make happy eggs). 

BTW, has anyone read "Chicken" by Garrison Keiller?   It's pretty funny and is oddly appropriate to this thread.  I couldn't find the story in text form online but here he is telling it (called here "Chicken Massacre"): http://vimeo.com/1632834 .   It's 20 minutes long.