EGG IS VEGETARIAN

by Shrutee K/DNS

Food plays an essential role in our life not only does it provide us with the nutrition it also makes us what we are. The perennial fight between vegetarians and non-vegetarians has been raging on since time immemorial. They say you are what you eat. An egg is popularly considered to be a non-vegetarian food. However, there are several facts that support the contrary. If we look at it, in terms of definition, it basically is that those who eat flesh are non-vegetarians while those who consume egg are indeed vegetarian as the egg has no flesh or life. Eggs are so nutritious that they're often referred to as "nature's multivitamin." They also contain unique antioxidants and powerful brain nutrients that many people are deficient in.

Whole Eggs Are Among the Most Nutritious Foods on Earth..but alas its perceived that eggs are non-vegetarian..are they ??? are they not??

Suresh Chitturi :  Vice-Chairman & Managing Director of Srinivasa Farms Private Limited  & Vice Chairman of INTERNATIONAL EGG COMMISSION (IEC) says Based on the definition of vegetarian as a diet which excludes consumption of animal flesh, technically, yes, eggs are vegetarian, since they are not animal flesh (the meat, muscles or tissue of an animal). Many vegetarians include eggs in their diet, while still abstaining from eating chicken, cows, pigs, fish and all animals. According to terminology, you're an "ovo-vegetarian," that is, a vegetarian who eats eggs. Note that while eggs are vegetarian, they are certainly, under no circumstances, considered vegan.

Eggs come from chicken, but they are not obtained by killing chicken, like caviar or fish eggs are obtained. Not every product that comes out of animal is non-vegetarian, the best example being milk. Eggs contain three parts- the shell, the albumen (white) and the yolk. The egg white is a suspension of the protein albumen in water. It contains no animal cell. Hence, egg whites are vegetarian and all products containing egg whites are, technically, vegetarian. there are three parts of the egg – eggshell, egg yolk, and egg white. The egg whites (albumen) only contains protein and the egg yolk is mostly made up of proteins, cholesterol, and fat. The eggs that we consume on almost a daily basis do not have embryos. This means that the eggs probably have not developed enough to be at the stage where one would be eating an actual animal/bird. Most eggs available in the market are unfertilized ones, so there is hardly a possibility that a chick could have come out of it, had you spared that egg!

A lot of people may get offended at first but technically eggs don't fall under the definition of being a non-vegetarian product. Also, just like milk is considered to be vegetarian even though it comes from cows, likewise we should realize that not every product that comes from animals is non-vegetarian. So Eating one egg a day is a healthier option than taking artificial dietary supplements available in the market. Further eating eggs would protect people from mental stress, reduction of cholesterol, prevention of cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and heart problems