The problem with eggs

Since going vegan about a year ago, I've had a lot of different comments from my peers. I've obviously heard the generic "bUT HOW CAN YOU LIVE WITHOUT CHEESE??!!11" but I've also heard from some of my vegetarian friends "I understand giving up meat and dairy, but why eggs?" so the time has come for me to explain what exactly the problem with eggs is.

*queue the militant veganism*

A common misunderstanding regarding the egg industry is that it doesn't result in death like, obviously, the meat industry does. However, contrary to popular belief, the egg industry is intertwined with the meat industry - it still results in the mass death of animals. Only female chickens can produce eggs rendering male chickens as useless and they are either grinded up, or, even more sadistically, put into plastic bags and left to suffocate to death. They aren't even used for meat after this point because chicks don't have much muscle and it wouldn't be profitable to raise them as 'broilers' or 'fryers' so their lives are deemed useless right from the off and for this, they're killed. This is just the beginning.

Conditions in egg factory farms are abysmal. Chickens are kept in cages made of wire mesh which are layered on top of each other, which means faeces fall from the upper tiers to the chickens down below. This results in ill health for chickens. Secondly, chickens have to endure extremely uncomfortable conditions as the cages are usually very overcrowded - a cage which is roughly 16-18 inches has to hold up to 6 chickens which all have an average wingspan of 32 inches, go figure. This stresses them out to the point that the average super layer hen has an average laying span which is over 15 years shorter than hens that produce eggs naturally. When egg production slows down with hens in egg factorys, they're then slaughtered for meat. These hens are bred into a life of exhaustion, stress, and ill health and then murdered when they have nothing left to offer because their bodies have been exploited for human consumption. 

Some may argue that buying organic or free range eggs avoids these cruel methods of production, and this myth has been widespread because the industry capitalises on the guilt of the ordinary person. However, 'free range' is merely a marketing term. In order for a brand to be able to use the label 'free range' they need to allow their chickens to have access to outdoor areas but there is no specification of how long the chickens must spend outside or how much space the chickens should be given outside. Free range egg farms may be marginally better than factory farming, in the same way that a sh*t with a sprinkle on it is better than your bog standard sh*t, but at the end of the day it's still a sh*t. Hens in free range egg farms are often confined to mud-filled pens or crowded sheds, so there are still the issues of overcrowding and illness. The issue is still present, it's just been relocated so they can stamp 'free range' on their eggs and Middle Class Mary can feel good about herself.