Eggs and vegetarianism?

[marthamoo]

I've noticed in several of my cookery books that it will say next to a recipe "Vegetarian if made with a free range egg."

I don't get it - I can see that non free-range eggs are less animal friendly but that's a moral issue not a dietary one. Is there something sinister I should know about non-free range eggs?

It's just nosiness on my part, btw - I always buy free range anyway and am not vegetarian.

As a veggie the line has been blurred several times (damn you fish eating "vegetarians")
I think it is because a sizeable proportion of us veggies (least the ones i know) are veggie on moral grounds rather than taste / allergy hence free range.

Battery hens are fed bits of ground up slaughterhouse by-products?

Probably not now after BSE scandal...

I think CarrieG's right. battery hens are fed each other basically. organic free range are left to eat what they're meant to and corn.

But isn't an egg a potential chicken anyway... That's something that's always made me wonder.

do you know, I'm 35 and I have no idea how you either get a chicken or a yummy egg!

I have a feeling that the hen lays eggs anyway, and it's only when the cock gets round to doing his stuff that it's a chick????

I think that's what beety's cryptic comment referred to! I assume that an egg is only a potential chicken in the same way you could describe a period as a potential baby - ie., not at all really.

All this is putting me off eggs - I'm almost sorry I asked

Is it because hens are sometimes fed a diet containing fish stuff?

will rethink the omlette option for tea tonight...