Egg Head

I've been thinking about eggs lately.  To eat them or not to eat them?  It all started last year when they made eggs at my son's preschool.  It was very festive and cloaked in a fun Dr. Seuss theme and while at first I wanted to send him with something vegan-substitutey, I decided to just go with it.  I didn't want to make them into a forbidden fruit and figured one egg wouldn't kill him and he probably wouldn't like it anyway and that would be the end of it.

But he did like it--of course he did, the way they were presented.  And he wanted more.  I explained to him why we don't eat eggs--that most chickens are mistreated and I don't think they are very healthy.  Then the neighbors got chickens.  These chickens roam around in the back yard and they get lots of love and affection and they are obviously happy chickens leading a good life.  I have no problem with this at all.  In fact, I think it's a great idea to have chickens like this, very eco friendly and sustainable.  But I still don't think eggs are particularly healthy.  I didn't to begin with and then I learned about organic free range chicken eggs potentially  containing even more dioxin than the out-of-the-question factory farmed eggs.

Nothing is simple anymore.  For a while I was thinking, okay, if they are properly sourced I'm cool with eggs.  And--if things ever go south with our economy and we need to be responsible for more of or most of our own food then we ourselves would get chickens.  I love the idea of urban homesteading--with or without a financial crisis.

My son was pushing for me to get some eggs and my diet had become so limited, I wanted to expand my repertoire.  So we had some egg adventures. 

But here's the thing,  I'm kind of grossed out by eggs.  In Kris Carr's new book, CRAZY SEXY DIET (awesome book), she suggests that eggs should be in the meat category and calls them chicken fetuses.  Well, as far as I understand, they are not fetuses because they haven't been fertilized, but I do see how they could still appropriately be classified as meat. 

Right now I have some free range organic eggs in my fridge.  My son really wanted them, got very excited, but then decided he didn't like them after all.  I'm pleased by this.  I'm more comfortable consuming vegan food and I think it's healthier for us.  If he decides he wants them every now and then, that's fine, we'll just make sure they're local, organic, and free range.  Should food become scarce, we will revisit the egg option, but for now, we're good. 


Image Credit: Minimalist Photography

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