"cage-free" eggs...

What is the vegan perspective on this stuff?

I'm a new vegan, or at least I'm seeing if it's possible while on a college meal plan. I go to school in colorado, and all of our eggs on campus come from an organic source, where the chickens are not put into battery cages and are grain-fed.

So what exactly is the issue here? Do vegans not eat these eggs because of a philosophy against taking anything from animals? Health reasons? or are even chickens on these farms treated poorly?

Eggs is one of the only things that I'll miss (that, and yogurt), so I was wondering what people think of this.

There are several forum topics that detail differences between: vegan, lacto-vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, pescetarian, flexitarian and pollotarian.

If you plan on eating eggs, you would not be following a vegan diet.  There is not one specific reason that people prefer vegetarian or vegan diets.  It is a personal decision.

As far as cage-free is concerned, there is no guarantee that those chickens are treated any better.  Most are still in enclosed areas.  Barns without sunlight and seriously overcrowded conditions are still "cage-free" as long as the birds are not in small cages. 

I prefer not to be labeled as vegan or vegetarian but I eat a mostly vegan diet.  To some, that would make me a flexitarian.  I only eat fish a couple times a year.  I do not eat dairy because I'm lactose intolerant.  I do not like eggs so I do not eat eggs.  I do make certain recipes with eggs and I am careful to get them from a farm that I can visit and see the hens.  I am fortunate enough to live in a very rural area and can visit almost any neighbor and even buy one egg at a time if I want.

Vegans are defined as using/eating nothing of animal origin.  So eggs - being of animal origin - are simply off the list and it's irrelevant whether they're free-range or similar.   Honey & wool are also technically not vegan because they are animal derivatives.  Vegetarians do not eat meat but do use animal products that don't involve the death of an animal .... hence dairy, eggs, honey, wool are all OK for a vegetarian.  Leather wouldn't be.

How individuals choose to interpret vegetarianism or veganism is, of course, entirely up to them!   And plenty of people (like me - neither vegetarian nor vegan) make a special point of finding sources of foods that are ethically and sustainably produced.  I'd suggest you eat the foods you're comfortable with and for reasons that make sense to you rather than trying to shoehorn yourself into someone else's 'rule-book'.

As a vegan I don't eat eggs, no matter how organic or cage free. The hens are treated considerably better in these cases, but they're still not free. The only way to really know is to visit the farm for yourself and see the conditions the hens are kept in and then make a desicion based on that. If it's right for you go for it, being a student on meal plan isn't always the best option for eating a vegan diet - though my school was pretty great in that respect. When first making the switch to vegan it can be hard and you might miss a few things and it's okay to keep eating them. Gradually phase these foods out and soon you won't even think twice about it. Or keep them in your diet as a vegetarian, this is your thing and you can do what you want.

Thanks Patita, you completely answered my question. I already know the definitions of vegetarian, vegan, etc. and I just needed some clarification of the reasoning behind some of it.

If I visit a farm or rural area where I know exactly where the food is coming from, I'll most likely just eat vegetarian. As of right now I'm all the way vegan!

I'm really lucky as well as far as school goes. The vegan options here are very good. Today my dining hall served tofu quiche and rosemary white bean soup...I suggest both!

I am struggling with this myself.  I have chosen my diet not based around ethics but health benefits.  I am a vegetarian but I eat about a 99% vegan diet.  I am pretty anal about what I eat on a regular basis, but  I don't beat myself up if I decided to have a spoonful of whipped cream or something once every other month.

I am struggling to eat eggs if they are hormone/antibiotic free.  I think they would nutritionally be beneficial to my diet, however the snag point for me, after making a point to have a mainly vegan diet and thinking about where my food comes from, is that you are eating from the reproductive system of an animal.  If I could convince myself that is normal behavior, I could probably eat them, but despite the fact that they are a staple in most peoples diets it seems gross to me. 

Hero, I have a similar thought process. My main reason for switching to vegan is for the health benefits, but I also feel very good about the positive environmental and ethical implications of the diet. That's why I got a little iffy about the eggs. Honestly, there are ways to get all the necessary nutrients without them (protein from legumes etc, B12 from nutritional yeast...), so if you have trouble with the idea behind eating eggs then I would stay away from them.

The treatment of animals on most farms is appalling, and that's a good reason to be vegan instead of just vegetarian, but I personally see nothing wrong with the act of eating eggs, mistreatment aside. In fact I find it very natural. Eggs are very nutritious and it does not harm the animal to take this food source...it's not like the chicken needs that unfertilized egg for anything.

Your reasoning is fine but, technically speaking, because you're happy to eat animal derivatives you're a 'vegetarian' and not a 'vegan'..... it's only a name, admittedly, but there is a distinction in definition

Good to know ---thanks!