Why Vegan?

Most people know what a vegetarian is - and the reasons why - but the term 'vegan' still leaves many asking what the difference between the two is. The difference
actually couldn't be simpler - a vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat
meat. A vegan is someone who does not eat or use anything from any
animal. The best way of understanding veganism is to read the Vegan
Society's description: 'Veganism is a way of living that seeks to
exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of,
and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing and any other purpose'.

Why vegan? What is wrong with milk and eggs?

Far too many people think that cows produce milk by eating grass!
Others believe that cows just always produce milk - it's 'what they do'.
Sadly, both of these assumptions are far from the truth. The fact is
that cows are just like humans - mammals. This means that in order to
produce milk, cows need to be pregnant. When the calf is born, it is
removed from its mother and sold to the veal trade - or simply shot due to being a by-product of the milk industry. Like humans with their babies, cows share a huge bond with their calves, and the forced separation is extremely distressing for both. To see how heartbreaking it is, please view this video (note: this is initially a sad video but it has a happy ending).

Every time someone puts a splash of milk in their tea, eats a cream cake or butters their toast, they are a part of this cruelty. Yet it doesn't have to be this way. There are countless brilliant alternatives to milk products. Soya milk, Rice Milk, Oat Milk - plus soya creams and milk replacers. There is a large range of chocolate products, cheeses, spreads - and so on - there are alternatives to every milk product!

The egg industry

There has been a lot of publicity over recent years about the benefits of buying free range eggs. A report that was published in 2009 even stated that, since records began, the sales of free range eggs had overtaken those of caged eggs. Whilst an initial reaction is surely one of celebration, the question remains: why do we still have hens in
battery cages in 2010? The fact is, even those who pointedly
purchase free range eggs are unwittingly also buying eggs from
caged hens when they purchase products like cakes, biscuits,
puddings and so on. This is because the producers of these products
do not have to declare where the egg ingredient came from. Even if
these products were avoided entirely, and people ONLY bought free
range eggs, the free range egg industry itself is no place to buy a
cruelty free egg from. This is because the hens themselves have a
short shelf life. They have been bred for the sole purpose of laying an
egg a day (in the wild, their ancestors will lay a clutch of eggs, much
like our wild birds do - it is unnatural to lay an egg a day!). This
selective breeding means that they become worn out (or 'spent')
after around a year and a half. Their production slows and stops - but
before that can happen, they are caught by catching teams and sent
to slaughter. What little meat is on their bodies goes into products such as pies, soups, baby food and pet food.

Like cows (and humans!), hens have a strong bond with their young (the term 'broody' comes from observations of a mother hen), yet the breeding hens (for all types of industries - ie: barn, free range and cage) never get the chance to sit on their eggs. Once laid, the eggs are taken from the mother hen and sent to a hatchery where thousands of other motherless eggs await hatching. Hens and their young communicate with each other whilst the chicks are still in the shell. In the hatchery, each chick's call to its mother remains unanswered. When they are born, the chicks are sexed because only the female chicks are any use to the egg industry. The male chicks are killed at one day old by means of gassing or maceration (shredded alive) or simply thrown into huge bins to die slowly.

Anyone who consumes products made from commercially purchased eggs is a part of this. Yet, just like milk, this is totally avoidable! There is a huge range of alternatives to eggs - from tofu which can be scrambled, to egg replacers for cake mixes!

For more information about the poultry industry, please go to Animal Aid's factfile 

If you buy eggs from markets, please be aware that some market traders pass caged eggs off as being free range. The only way to be sure is to check the code printed on the eggs. If the code is 3 UK, this means the eggs are from caged hens. Here are the codes in full: 0 UK = Organic, 1 UK = Free Range, 2 UK = Barn and 3 UK = Cage.

We hope you have found this informative - but if you have any questions at all, please feel free to get in touch!

Don't miss our next instalment: What's wrong with Wool and Silk?