Is egg vegetarian or non-vegetarian?

Generally, even people who do not eat meat do not feel there is any risk in eating eggs, as there is no clear understanding on whether egg is veg or non veg. Many vegetarian people do not object to eating bakery items such as cakes and biscuits, in which eggs are used as one of the ingredients. Some people even unknowingly and happily consume food items like chocolates, ice cream, noodles, or bread, in which egg white or eggs are used.

Generally, even people who do not eat meat do not feel there is any risk in eating eggs, as there is no clear understanding on whether egg is veg or non veg. Many vegetarian people do not object to eating bakery items such as cakes and biscuits, in which eggs are used as one of the ingredients. Some people even unknowingly and happily consume food items like chocolates, ice cream, noodles, or bread, in which egg white or eggs are used.

Life is definitely present in eggs

In reality, five-sensed beings that do not have external ears lay eggs. The offspring of a five-sensed being is also five-sensed. Therefore, eating eggs involves grave violence, because among living beings, the more developed the life-form, from one-sensed to five-sensed, the greater the karmic fault of violence involved. This understanding addresses the common question, is egg vegetarian or not.

Eggs are considered meat-eating, because a chicken is born from an egg. A chicken is a five-sensed being, and the egg is its dormant form (a state of suspension). An egg is like a three-month-old foetus in a mother’s womb, just as that is an underdeveloped human life, similarly, an egg is an underdeveloped chicken. If a three-month-old foetus is killed, it is equivalent to killing a two-year-old human child who has been raised. In the same way, consuming eggs is equivalent to consuming a chicken. Therefore, the claims that eggs are vegetarian, or that eating eggs involves no violence or harm, are propaganda meant to increase the sale and use of eggs, they are not the reality.

Life exists even in artificial eggs

Nowadays, the belief has become very widespread that non-violent eggs, also referred to as unfertilized eggs or artificial eggs, can be eaten. It is said that eggs laid by a hen without coming into contact with a rooster are called unfertilized eggs. It is claimed that no violence to life occurs in consuming such eggs.

But artificial eggs are not completely man-made. The eggs that a hen lays have the potential for a chick to be born from them; however, conditions are deliberately created so that the chick does not take birth. Even so, life is definitely present in them; that life remains covered and is in an unconscious state. This understanding addresses the common question that if artificial, is egg vegetarian or not. Just as when there is a two-month-old fetus in a human mother’s womb, it has not yet been born, but if a needle is pierced into it, it certainly feels pain. In abortion of a human fetus, the karmic fault is equal to killing a human being. In the same way, eating eggs carries the same karmic fault as eating a chicken, whether the eggs are unfertilized or fertilized, there is no difference between the two.

The reality is that any food can be eaten only if it is living, and only then does it provide nourishment to the body. Vegetables too are one-sensed living beings and are alive, but eating them does not carry the same karmic fault as eating eggs or meat; therefore, eating them is not considered as violence. By the same reasoning, unfertilized eggs are also living. If they were not living, they would not provide strength to the body. Therefore, eating unfertilized eggs involves violence toward five-sensed beings.

People living abroad had asked Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan the same kind of question, and its detailed answer is given here.

Questioner: Some people even argue that there are two types of eggs, ones that are fertile and others that are infertile. So can those be eaten or not?

Dadashri: People living abroad [outside of India] were making the argument that there are ahimsak [infertile] eggs! So ‘we’ told them that anything that is non-living cannot be eaten in this world. One cannot eat anything that is not living. If an egg did not contain life, then that egg would be inedible, it would be considered a lifeless thing. This is because anything without life is considered lifeless. In order to eat foods that contain life, once they have been cut, they have to be consumed within two to three days, before they spoil. Even vegetables can only be eaten within a certain amount of time, once they have been picked [from the plant]; they will start rotting after that. Therefore, only living things can be consumed. Therefore, if an egg did not contain life, then it would be inedible. It is only edible if it is alive. So if people are saying that eggs do not contain life, then that point is entirely humbug. Why do they trap people like this?

It is a wonder in itself how this group, who believes in the consumption of infertile eggs, has represented these infertile eggs in this form [as being lifeless]. If that group were to be asked, “Tell us, is this infertile egg non-living or living? If it is non-living, it cannot be eaten.” What kind of people are you, that you have fooled the entire world! If there is no life in it, then we cannot consume it; it is considered inedible.

Questioner: But these [so-called] vegetarian eggs do not hatch.

Dadashri: The fact that they do not hatch is a different matter, but the eggs are still alive.

So, when things have been misconstrued like this, imagine the difficulty arising for Jain children! All these children had argued with ‘us’ on this topic. Then ‘we’ explained to them, “Dear children, at least give this some thought. There is no problem at all if the eggs were nonliving, but that which is not living cannot even be consumed.” ‘We’ further explained to them, “Otherwise, if you want to be overly wise, then you will have to stop eating grains too. Go ahead and eat only non-living items. However, non-living things are not useful to the body. They do not contain any vitamins. Items that are non-living might satisfy one’s hunger, but they do not contain vitamins. So the body cannot be sustained. It doesn’t get the required vitamins, does it! Therefore, non-living items will not suffice as food.” That is when those children agreed to stop eating eggs from that day forward. If the point is explained to them, then people are willing to understand; otherwise, these other people represent things in such a misconstrued way that the intellect goes astray. This wheat and rice, and all other items that we eat, these big bottle gourds that we eat, those are all living beings, aren’t they! Are they not living beings? However, the Lord has given the boundary of what to eat, “Eat these living beings. But do not kill the living beings that feel tormented by you, do not eat them, do not do anything at all to them.”

The dangers of eating eggs

If you try to touch a chick that has emerged from an egg, it runs away. It experiences fear and distress. Living beings that feel fear and pain when harmed are called trasakaya beings. From a humane point of view, should a being that experiences distress be protected, or should it be killed and eaten? A person who eats eggs incurs the karmic fault of violence toward living beings.

Secondly, by eating beings that experience fear and distress, atoms of fear and pain enter the eater’s body. As a result, over the long term, the person themselves becomes prone to tension, fear, stress, and depression. People who continuously consume eggs and meat, even after arranging all kinds of measures for their own safety, still live in fear throughout the day and are unable to remain fearless even for a moment.

Eating eggs is animalistic behaviour. Just as wild animals kill and eat other animals to satisfy their hunger, in the same way humans eat eggs. A person with a humane heart is the one who thinks, “I cannot tolerate even a slight prick from a needle, then how can I cut a living being and eat it?”

If we cut an egg and it does not move away, does that mean it is not a trasakaya being? The answer to this is given to us by Param Pujya Dadashri.

Questioner: These eggs do not feel tormented, so is it okay to eat them or not?

Dadashri: Eggs do not feel tormented. However, the life that is contained within an egg is in a dormant state. But when it hatches, you would realize that the chick feels tormented, wouldn’t you?

Questioner: I would realize that immediately. But the egg does not move around, does it! What about that?

Dadashri: It does not do so because the living being within is in a dormant state. That is why it doesn’t do so. Even the human fetus is [dormant] just like an egg up to the fourth or fifth month. That does not mean that one can kill it. We humans can understand what happens once the egg hatches.

Alternatives to Eggs for Health

Nowadays, many doctors even advise children from vegetarian families to have eggs for the purpose of obtaining protein and maintaining good health. This often leads to the common question, is egg vegetarian and necessary for nutrition.

The belief that one must eat eggs to obtain protein is completely wrong. Vegetarian foods such as sprouted green gram or soybeans contain a high amount of protein. Other food items like paneer (cottage cheese), chickpeas, and pulses also provide protein in ample quantities. Powerful horses are vegetarian and obtain protein and strength from chickpeas. Moreover, strong animals such as elephants and hippopotamuses are also completely vegetarian. Even when they are hungry, they do not touch meat. If there were no strength in vegetarian food, where would these beings get their strength from?

Therefore, it is not necessary to eat eggs for protein, regardless of the debate on is egg vegetarian or not. Rather, people emphasize eating eggs for the taste of the tongue or for pleasure. This is no longer a time when vegetarian food is unavailable. Everywhere, not only vegetarian but also Jain and vegan food options are easily available. Vegan means food in which no products obtained from animals such as milk or honey are used. Thus, in today’s time, if someone decides not to eat eggs or meat at all, they will not have to face hunger.