Eggs Simply Are Not For Humans

Ga Maleven

Egg: an oval or round object laid by a female bird, reptile, fish, or invertebrate, usually containing a developing embryo. The eggs of birds are enclosed in a chalky shell, while those of reptiles are in a leathery membrane.

Eggs are found in almost all animals, from the eggs laid by birds, reptiles, fish, and platypus, and the eggs that are not laid by mammals and other animals. Eggs are an integral part of the reproduction cycle and are only found in females and hermaphrodites. Without eggs, most species would not be able to reproduce.

Bird eggs are most often consumed by humans, but some other animals may have their eggs consumed to fish and even reptiles, but for this journal we will concentrate on birds, primarily chickens. Birds, like other animals, lay their eggs after mating and care for them as needed until they hatch. They then raise their young, teach them everything they need to know, and then leave them to live their own lives.

But, sometimes an egg is not fertilized. When this occurs the eggs are still laid, and this is true for birds as well as reptiles and fish. While egg laying animals don’t technically go through menstruation like mammals do, laying an unfertilized egg is basically the menstruation version for these animals. So, eggs are “menstruation cycles” of birds only done slightly different. The process is a bit different, but the reason behind it is the same. So, yes, they are basically bird “periods.” And unlike mammals, birds only have one “hole” in their rear end to do everything called a cloaca. Feces, urine, eggs, and semen all go in and out of it. And given how eggs are porous they always have some of it in them.

Why are bird “periods” so wrong if they naturally occur? There are several reasons. The first being that humans are herbivorous and simply are not meant to consume animal products for it harms us. Eggs are also incredibly high in cholesterol. While cholesterol is good in smaller amounts and necessary to live, eggs have so much that it can harm the body. But that’s not the biggest health concern. Eggs have been linked to causing several cancers, primarily prostate cancer, as well has developing diabetes. In fact, eggs are so bad for you that they are often compared to smoking 5 cigarettes a day!

But, the main concern with eggs is the abuse caused to the birds. In the egg industry birds are routinely artificially inseminated (raped) to ensure they keep producing chicks. Once the fertilized eggs hatch, the day old chicks are sorted through. Females will be sent off to be egg laying factories while male chicks, being “worthless” to the industry, are thrown into tree grinders alive, or stuffed in trash bags to suffocate to death. Billions of male chicks are killed yearly simply for being male.

Female chicks have their beaks cut in have by a laser. This is to ensure they don’t peck each other, which is common due to all the severe stress the birds are under. Beaks are sensitive, and cutting them hurts the birds. The chicks are thrown around like inanimate objects and sorted without care. They are stuffed into cages the size of iPads where they will spend their entire lives packed together. They are unable to stretch, preen, see the light, or move. They can only sit there, unable to do anything but lay eggs.

In a few months to a couple of years the birds are too weak to lay anymore, if they haven’t died yet, and gathered into small crates. They are shipped off to slaughter where they are brutally killed by having their necks cut. They are hung upside down by their feet, sent down a conveyor belt, and a machine spinning a blade around like a fan cuts their throats. They bleed out, feeling all the pain. Often they are beaten, stomped on, strangled, and have their heads ripped off during the slaughter process.

While unaltered chickens lay only about 12 eggs in a single year, the chickens used for egg production have been so genetically modified that they now lay over 300 per year. This take a tremendous toll on their bodies since creating an egg removes many nutrients from their bodies, primarily calcium. Broken bones and osteoporosis is common in egg laying hens.

Hens that are “free range” do not live any better lives. Male chicks are still ground up, beaks are cut off of females, they are not allowed outside, and they go to the same slaughterhouse. The only difference is they are kept inside a large “barn” without cages. But they still suffer from the excessive egg laying, being crammed together, illnesses, and bone problems.

It is not uncommon for these birds, battery or free range, to be stomped, kicked, and beaten by workers. The birds are always living in their own feces and urine, and missing feathers is common from birds pecking each other or removing their own feathers from the stress.

Removing an egg from a bird causes her stress. Even if she is a “backyard” hen and is given freedom, eats well, and isn’t physically abused, taking her egg away from her causes emotional turmoil. Animals who lay eggs are very protective of them, and even if they aren’t fertilized, they seek to protect them. Taking them away has the same effect as taking away their already hatched baby. The hens will defend and care for their eggs until they hatch, or until they begin to rot in which the hen will realize they are not fertilized, and thus will abandon them. But removing them will only make her feel the need to replace what she lost, and thus lay more. Birds and other egg laying animals eat the shells of their eggs once the babies hatch in order to take in lost nutrients, just as many mammals will eat the placenta.

Egg laying also causes immense pain to push the egg out. To always be “birthing” and on your period is not a pleasant life, especially when eggs get backed up inside of you and causes excruciating pain.

Chickens are very intelligent and loving. They socialize with each other, have a complex communication system, solve puzzles, play games, get along with other species, are sassy, watch TV, and even purr when being petted. Chickens simply are not meant to be eaten or exploited for their reproduction cycles, which also goes against being a feminist. It’s bad for us, bad for them, and there are plenty of humane alternatives.