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Vegans don’t eat eggs, but what happens if you (or friends) have rescued some hens and allow them to live out their natural lives in good conditions? Is there anything wrong with eating their eggs in these circumstances?
Well, obviously it’s not possible to say that you are a vegan and to eat eggs, but if you are motivated by a desire to ensure that your diet is free from animal suffering, it could be argued that eggs from home-reared, rescued hens meet this criteria. Having said that, I wouldn’t want to consume ‘cruelty-free’ eggs myself, because the idea of eating them no longer appeals.
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Alternatively, you could give the eggs to someone who would normally buy them from less ethical sources, thereby further reducing support for the farming industry. Or, you could even feed them back to the hens in order to replace the nutrients lost – especially calcium – through producing so many eggs. For more on this and other issues relating to eggs from home-reared hens, I can recommend this great article from The Vegan Woman.
Although there is no doubt that some forms of commercial egg production are less exploitative than others, they all end in the early death of hens – usually at around 18 months old – when egg production drops. These hens could otherwise live for several more years. And, of course, all the male chicks from breeds reared for commercial egg production are killed shortly after hatching, usually in giant gas chambers.
