Vegetarians and eggs

So here is something I was thinking about the other day, do vegetarians go out of their way to avoid eggs? Now obviously they won't be ordering an omelette any time soon, but what about all the things made with eggs in the recipes? Things like cookies, cakes, and many other things all use eggs, do vegetarians (in general) try to avoid these things or is it not something that is really thought about before eating?

If they do, then they're going to have a hard time finding pastries and desserts that would live up to their standards of benevolence.

Eggs aren't an animal - isn't it vegans that don't eat that stuff?

I keep mixing vegetarians and vegans together. To my understanding, the former don't eat meat and that is that, while the later don't eat anything relating to animals, whether it be eggs, milk, butter...etc. Does that sound about right?

Also is my use of "to my understanding" there ok?

Mmmmmmmm, eggs.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

that's more of an issue for vegans

@Engrish_Major:

Ahh! Yes I forgot that most commercialized eggs are not fertilized. I suppose that would take the worry out of the decision.

Vegeterians aren't a cohesive ideological group.

The vegetarians I know don't eat meat more because of some cerebral revulsion to do with eating flesh, than as a result of an ideological opposition to harming (or in this case- exploiting) animals. Also, I have never met (knowingly) a self-declared vegeterian who didn't eat eggs (as opposed to vegans).

Eggs coming from the industry aren't fertilised, even biological eggs are usually not fertilised.
There are people out there though who honestly think that a chicken can't lay eggs without a rooster...

Grocery store eggs are less developed than human embryos in the first few weeks of development. I don't view it as eating an animal, more akin to eating a placenta. That being said, I'm open to vegan arguments that forcing animals to produce eggs/milk for us is wrong. If I saw some evidence that those animals were in noticeable agony while doing so I might reconsider (and I know they are in some environments, which is why I support farms that try to make animals as comfortable as possible), but I really don't see how using animal products is bad in itself if they're able to live decent lives.

As to the question, there are a lot of recipes for eggless pastries and such.

@theone86:

I absolutely advocate for the use of fake eggs when it comes to recipies where you can't taste the egg. This frees up eggs for recipies where the egg is the main thing.

Vegetarians don't eat meat and that's about it, you're talking about vegans.

And they don't eat any pastry that has eggs as far as I know.

Its not that they are against fertilized eggs, they are against the procedures taken to get the chicken to lay them. It's the same deal with cows, they don't like the way they are milked.

Vegetarians don't eat meat and that's about it, you're talking about vegans.

And they don't eat any pastry that has eggs as far as I know.

There are actually vegetarians who do eat eggs. Vegetarianism is a little more flexible than veganism. As someone previously said, vegans won't eat anything that comes from the exploitation of animals, including eggs, milk, honey and even wearing leather. Some vegetarians will eat eggs but i've heard the term eggetarian to describe them. Some vegetarians also consume milk, butter and honey. I do feel that anyone who eats eggs should eat organic, pastured, cage-free eggs. Chickens are meant to eat all sorts of things including insects and lizards and small snakes, not just some soy-corn concoction that is advertised as "vegetarian fed" chickens. One will see and taste a difference in true eggs as opposed to the great majority of eggs sold in traditional grocery stores.

There are a huge assortment of vegan pastries and other baked goods that are now available. be careful though because some of the ingredients used are soybean, canola and sunflower oils, maltodextrin and guar gum, which are pretty awful for your health.

There is a company that may soon release an egg alternative that is made from pea-protein and other ingredients. Hampton Creek Foods claims to have an egg-substitute made from all organic and GMO free ingredients, i think it's called "Beyond Eggs". Instead of marketing to the average consumer they are trying to get the baked goods companies to adopt their egg alternative. Since we can't taste the egg in cookies and muffins, and since 30% of the eggs sold in this country go to pre-baked goods, they are hoping to curb the reliance on eggs by creating an alternative. I for one don't eat too many baked goods or processed foods that contain eggs, but I would be interested to see if this takes off.

Can't tell that to pro-choicers.

You can make cakes and cookies without eggs, they're not as "rich" but they're definitely still tasty.

I don't get why you wouldn't eat eggs, hens make them even if they don't get screwed so they usually can't turn into chickens.

I had to explain that to a group my friends once upon a time. One of the girls asked "why would a chicken lay eggs if they can't hatch?" I told her flatly "for the same reason you girls drop an unfertilized egg every month."

We've often referred to eggs as 'chicken periods' since.

But I do love them, especially with some loaded hash browns.

Vegans avoid eggs. Vegetarians often enjoy any animal product that doesn't involve killing the animal and is sourced from "free range" or "organic" farms.