Eggs

The other day, a friend and I were out shopping for groceries. We then came to the egg section and we both decided to get a dozen. As usual and without hesitation, I naturally reached out to get the cage-free ones which cost a dollar more than the caged ones. As I turned to look at my friend, he was still considering his options. So I asked him what uncertainties he had. He told me that he could not decide which ones to get. He pointed out that both were a dollar seventy but couldn’t decide on the brand. So I suggested he get the cage-free ones which were better but he refused, saying it was a dollar more.

I told him that the chickens were raised under good conditions. The birds are free to roam and this results in happier, healthier birds that produce healthier eggs. The caged birds have their beaks clipped, injected with hormones, starved and gradually go insane. He told me that a dollar is a lot and that it means saving fifty dollars a year just on eggs alone. I wonder how and why a person could reason to save fifty dollars if it meant that animals were getting hurt. The only reason cage-free eggs are still more expensive now is because there is still a market for non cage-free eggs, just like there is still a market for turtle meat, whale meat and ivory. This will lead to extinction and affect the earth’s ecosystem.

I would like to say that I am not a vegetarian and am a meat lover. However, I do feel that animals do need to be treated with respect under the Muslim Halal laws or Jewish Kosher laws.

Later,
Mat Love, the idealist