Why Cant Vegans eat cheese, eggs and milk?

I think since there is no harm done to the animals why not?

 

yah because eggs arent dead chickens....

 

what about milk?

 

Okay, here goes:
Eggs are looked down upon because of the way the chickens are usually handled to get them. Factory farmed chickens are kept in battery cages that are stuffed past capacity so that they can't move around much, and when they lay their eggs they fall through a grate below and are collected by workers. The cages are so tightly packed that the chickens have to be "debeaked" (most of their beaks are cut off) so they do not peck each other to death.
That said, I have never been opposed to taking eggs from chickens that are free range and walking around the barnyard. If they aren't fertilized I don't see what ethical law you are violating, since it usually causes more emotional damage to the chicken to leave unfertilized eggs with them that will never hatch (they get broody and cranky because they feel they have to protect them). The problem is, it violates the definition of vegan more than any ethical law. Vegan means no animal products. So, it's up to the individual whether or not it is more important for them to hold a title or to do what they believe in without regard for classifying themselves.
Dairy is trickier. Dairy cows have to be pregnant or nursing in order to produce milk. It's not like the chickens, who just lay eggs all the time without prompt. There has to be a calf somewhere in the mix. This creates a lot of calves, in turn creating the veal market. Veal calves are often abused at calf auctions (I've seen it firsthand. It ain't pretty). They are kept in confined living spaces so that movement is restricted, and fed diets that are not nutritionally complete (so that the meat is more tender). They are sometimes slaughtered just days (sometimes hours) after birth.
The dairy cows themselves experience great emotional loss when their calves are taken from them. Some have been known to wander the fields, bellowing for their lost calf. I've heard some have died from the grief, but you know, I don't know if it's true...
The conditions dairy cows are kept in, as well as the machines they hook up to them to extract the milk, also can lead to infections of the udder (mastitis), leading to bleeding and pusy udders. Where does the blood and pus go?
Yep, in your milk. Don't worry. I'm sure it's pasteurized.

Fertilized eggs may bee seen this way, but this is similar to the pro-life/pro-choice argument, don't you think? It's really up to individual opinion whether or not to consider a fertilized egg "a life" just as some people don't consider a week old fetus to be "a life."

Complicated stuff. I've been over this stuff, lived veggie, lived vegan, and come back to the omni lifestyle. I really don't think anyone but you can come to your own conclusions. I'm all for activism and raising awareness, because "the unexamined life is not worth living" and all that. But as for throwing paint on people and terrifying them and belittling them, I'm not into it. Perhaps because I've chosen to live omni and I don't want to be hassled. I dunno.

You do what you feel is right. Don't feel the need to justify it to anyone else, but make a decision you yourself can live with. :cheers2:

 

Thanks a lot for taking the time to explain to me.
You know, we have around 25 chikens at home, we took good care of them,and they are free to wander in our huge garden,and are fed very well. So I guess there is no harm if I consume the eggs they produce.
About milk, there are some farmers in Tunisia (my country) sell cheese and milk taken from cows without abusing them. Of course there is the milk made in factories but there is also natural milk.

 

Like I said, it is all up to you. You have to live with your decisions, no one else, so if you feel okay with consuming these things (I have no objections myself from what you've told me), that should be the most important thing.
I'm jealous of your chickens. I've always wanted my own farm fresh eggs.

 

You should see them!!!! They are beautifulll! I'll post pictures of them soon!!!

 

Actually unless there's a rooster around, they're not

 

Because cheese is made from milk...cow's or goat's milk and milk is for baby cows & baby goats. I never heard of any cheese being made from human milk.

 

I think its pretty simple - Cows are milked to a completely un-natural extent and thus it damages the cow

Eggs - are created in unhealthy environments(and it could be alive?)
Cheese - Same thing with milk

Also keeping in mind its the whole thing of products coming from animals also

I have to agree with the Vegans in general (im a vegetarian)

I still havent quite made the jump to become a vegan because I wonder where it all stops ... some plants are alive .. can't eat plants .. some grass is alive .. can't eat grass .. the ocean is alive ... can't drink the water .. the oxygen is part of the world .. can't breathe air.

that is the problem I find with the theory of vegetarianism and veganism.

The only reason im a vegetarian is that I figure its more healthy than eating meat.

 

All plants are alive... grass is a plant and yes, its alive... the ocean is not alive although it is an ecosystem containing living orginisims... Dont drink ocean water you could die... oxygen is part of the world... I recommend you continue to breath air.

 

Just a note to the person who mentioned free range. Those aren't considered humane either. Really the only humane place to get eggs would be from your own (well cared for) chickens or from someone you know and you know they are well cared for. Another problem with eggs that was not mentioned (I don't think), they kill many, many, many male chicks because they are not worth anything. And they are killed far from humanly. But again, that only applies to these companies. If you know someone who is getting eggs humanly, I say go ahead. But as stated before, you have to look within yourself to see how far you will go with it.

 

There are a lot of loopholes with regards to 'free range' which is a crock because the very fact that it's advertised upon so much is because the general population obviously give a damn. If they let the chickens out for 2.5 minutes a day they can slap a 'free range' label on there.

 

And this is why I support Polyface, Inc.

 

I know that when i was going thru culinary school(when i made the switch to the veg lifestyle)...I cracked a few eggs open and saw bloody insides.....Supposedly free range eggs*it was listed on the package*.....So...I for one after reading this post, remembering will never eat eggs again, nor have I eaten them in over a year.....can't they hand milk cows? And to the person who said human milk EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW.......Save it for the babies.....

 

cows can be hand milked, but they are repeatedly artificially inseminated to become pregnant to produce the milk. Many of the calfs are raised to be slaughtered, others for milk then slaughter.

Save it for the babies? Is cow milk not specifically made for baby cows?

 

thats what i mean willy

 

Thing with cows, though: you can regulate how much they produce just by milking them more often. They will naturally produce as much as you want them to, so there's no reason they can't produce enough to geth their baby up on his feet AND feed a family all the dairy they need (which, truth be told, humans shouldn't consume that much anyway).
Hand milking is the way to go anyway, I think. Those sucker things have a bad reputation for causing injury and infection, and if you throw all sorts of disinfectants on them, chances are you will be drinking/eating it at some point. I'm not all too comfortable with the idea... :ack2:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastitis#Nonpuerperal_mastitis
^check out the infected milk uke:

 

So what if you knew the free range chickens were treated really really well? What would qualify as "humane" to you all?

 

If you're a vegan, can you let your baby eat your breast milk?

What if you're a vegan baby... do you eat only powder milk and vegan pablum?