Skip the Egg!
If you’ve been following the controversy around eggs lately, you know that most egg consumers want to choose eggs that do not cause undue suffering for the hens. The labels are confusing: organic, vegetarian-fed, cage-free, pasture-raised and more. Conventionally-raised eggs are from hens that are confined in battery cages with less than the space of a piece of paper.
It gets overwhelming to make sense of what these humane labels actually mean. For example, cage-free sounds good, but having all the chickens confined in an airless room can actually create a more unhealthy environment for the animals and the people. And cage-free doesn’t mean they actually are able to go outside. In addition to all of these labels, there are other issues to consider, and the reason that I don’t eat eggs.
The best option if you want to eat chicken eggs, would be to get them from backyard chickens, buy them at a Farmer’s Market, or a local farm. Even if it costs more, you can actually use less, by eating them sparingly.
One way to use less is to replace eggs whenever possible in recipes. Eggs are often used just for binding or creating a fluffy texture.
I’ve grown to prefer my tofu scrambles, and other egg-free recipes.
Here is a chart I illustrated using some substitution ideas.
Please share your favorite egg-free dish with us! I make this tofu egg sandwich every week, with vegan mayo, spinach and tomato on toast— I actually prefer it to chicken eggs.
