And even if no animals were directly harmed in the production of milk, a strict vegan would still not drink it, as vegans are philosophically opposed to using animals for human benefit.Įggs are a similar case, and are also consumed widely in India, Karkare says, because they are not fertilized, and hence are not thought to be harmful to animals - the egg would never develop into a chicken anyway. Here, cows are usually bred for milking, often in harsh conditions, which many vegetarians and vegans point out is harmful to the animals. In that way, the thinking was that no animals were harmed, she says. “It was part of how the dairy was run: the milk came from animals who were continuing to produce milk that was not for the calf,” she says. Growing up, Karkare drank water buffalo milk, produced on a small farm in such a way that consumers only got milk that the calf would not drink in any case, says Karkare. That includes not taking milk away from the baby animal, which is more aligned with veganism, she says.īut veganism “is a really Western world term,” she says. “Elsewhere in the world, the concept of being vegetarian has to do with not harming the animal,” she says. They are usually okay with eating eggs and don’t consider fish to be the same as “meat,” and so, think of themselves as vegetarians.Ĭomplicating things even further, “vegetarian” doesn’t mean exactly the same thing in other parts of the world as it does here, points out Karkare, who was born in India. Pescatarians eat a vegetarian diet with an exception for fish, but they don’t eat red meat or poultry.
This includes not just animal flesh, but milk, cheese, butter, eggs and even often things like honey, because it comes from bees. People who follow a vegan diet, on the other hand, are vegetarians who choose to forgo any product that comes from an animal. “I personally consider eggs to be vegetarian.” “Eggs are generally considered vegetarian in America because they do not contain animal flesh,” says Stefani Sassos, MS, RDN, CSO, CDN, Good Housekeeping’s registered dietician. These folks don’t eat meat, poultry or fish protein alongside their plants, but they do eat eggs and drink milk and consume dairy products. Think of “vegetarian” as a giant beach umbrella, under which there are different kinds of vegetarians hanging out together on their towels. That is all true.īut after that, it gets complicated. If you don’t think too hard about it, “vegetarian” is simply a diet that does not include meat instead vegetarians choose a diet that is heavy on grains, vegetables and fruit, nuts and legumes and the like. First off, what exactly is a vegetarian diet? “It depends on the person and their beliefs and lifestyle, as well as what kind of situation that they grew up in,” she says. “I’m going to give you the favorite answer of all dietitians - it depends,” says Manju Karkare, MS RDN LDN, a registered dietician in North Carolina. That’s because not everyone defines “vegetarian” the same way, and people choose to eat vegetarian - however they define it - for different reasons, which dictates what they feel good about putting into their mouths.
Ask 10 people if eating eggs is okay if you’re following a vegetarian diet and you’re liable to get a mix of different answers.
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