This rooster in southern Turkey runs around wherever he wants – roosters and hens in feedlots aren’t nearly as fit.
In the last year, I’ve really seriously asked myself – are eggs healthy?I would ideally prefer getting all of my nutrition from whole foods without supplements, and that’s just not possible on a vegan diet plan.
Are Eggs Healthy?
Eggs have some nutritional benefits that make them attractive for a vegetarian diet plan. They are a source of vitamin B12 and D, two nutrients lacking in a pure vegan diet plan. In order to get those nutrients, vegans need to take vitamin supplements.
Whole foods are usually a better source of nutrients than supplements, so that’s the strongest health argument in support of eggs.
Are Eggs Healthy When They Come From An Industrial Operation?
To produce eggs on a commercial basis, those chickens are housed in the same way as feedlot animals and are also fed antibiotics and other chemicals. Organic and/or free range eggs are not necessarily better because those terms only define a part of the process and not the overall philosophy.
To be certified as free range chickens, they don’t need to be happy little chickens running amuck in the fields. They only have to be given an open door to go out to a field if they are willing and able.
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Unfortunately, the term free range does not incorporate the first portion of a chicken’s life so that by the time they have that open door, they often don’t have the leg strength or bone mass to walk outside.
Not only is that tragically cruel, but the chickens aren’t healthy, and an unhealthy mother doesn’t produce a healthy egg.
If you choose to eat eggs, try to buy from a local organic farmer that you trust. You should be able to ask them about their practices, and check out the chickens.
They’re also usually much cheaper than the commercial free-range organic eggs. Lots of people are now raising chickens in their backyards in urban areas, so if you’re lucky enough you might have a friend from whom you can buy fresh eggs.
My current thinking on eggs is that although they could theoretically replace my vitamin D and B12 supplements, the quantity I’d need to eat to meet my daily needs for those nutrients isn’t sustainable. In order for everyone to have enough, they’d need to be produced on an industrial scale, which has too many environmental, health, social and ethical problems for me to be alright with.
The way things are right now, I think that the vitamin D and B12 supplements are a better option when all of the factors I mentioned above are taken into account.
What do you think? Are eggs healthy? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
