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Is egg veg or non-veg ? If we think that the egg is animal product, so it is Non-veg . But the Milk is also animal product.

user25500
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  • I agree it is non veg just like milk. – Wikash_ Dec 31 '21 at 16:18
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    Milk is not embryo! – Kanthri Dec 31 '21 at 16:32
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    The egg which is available in our markets is unfertilised egg i.e it doesn't contains any embryo. Only Filipinos, Cambodians & Vietnamese people consume fertilised egg. This is the image of fertilised egg used for consumption (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(food)#/media/File%3AInside_a_Balut_-_Embryo_and_Yolk.jpg). – অনু Dec 31 '21 at 17:19
  • A related or duplicate question -- https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/q/31625 – Rickross Jan 01 '22 at 08:08
  • I would remember it this way, anything that is a living cell or has living cells or simply contains cells is not considered vegetarian, there is no such things as vegetarian or non vegetarian in my opinion. In future some might even claim that meat produced using stem cell is not non vegetarian for their convenience, but the fact remains unchanged – Vikram Palakurthi Jan 06 '22 at 03:35
  • Biologically speaking egg is non-veg because it is part of body i.e. in most living beings including humans it is produced inside the body and only in case of birds, etc. it is released outside the body – ekAntika Jul 03 '22 at 18:03
  • Eggs is not sattvic – Kapila Jul 04 '22 at 04:43
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    Given this is a question about Hindusim, Eggs are not sattvic or vegetarian. Manu Smriti rules against eating eggs in Parva 5 and that's all that there is to be said on the issue. – Aravind Suresh Thakidayil Aug 17 '22 at 04:21

2 Answers2

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I consider Milk to be a vegetarian product, and egg to be a non-vegetarian product. My reasoning is as follows:

  • Eggs contain a single unfertilized cell - the yolk which when fertilized has the ability to grow into a new and unique organism - i.e. life.
  • Milk, on the other hand, does not contain such structures. One can argue that it contains unicellular organisms such as lactobacillus, however the description of milk remains constant to a solution of lactose, fat, and other non-living components. Moreover, the "milk" itself will not evolve or contains the possibility to develop into life.
Ash
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  • You know the yolk is not one cell right? – Aupakarana Abhibhaa Jan 04 '22 at 02:51
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    "Biologists like to argue over the semantics of this, but it is generally accepted that the yolk of an egg is one single, massive cell, thousands of times bigger than typical cells. The yellow yolk is most of the mass of the cell, but the important parts of the cell (such as the nucleus that contains the DNA) are in a small spot on the surface of the yolk called the germinal disc" - https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/appliance-science-the-biology-of-the-chicken-egg/ – Ash Jan 04 '22 at 23:08
  • So what about the potential of seeds and grains to grow into a new organism? – baba Feb 18 '22 at 18:17
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    @baba If there is no problem with eating plants themselves (for the most part), then there is no problem with eating seeds and grains. – MassEnquirer Mar 13 '22 at 19:51
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Both fertilized & unfertilized eggs are Non-Veg whereas Milk is Veg.

Veg/Non-Veg categorization is usually based on moral reasons:

  1. Milk: Milk is Veg because for getting milk you don't have to separate Calf from Cow or kill/injure Cow/Calf (Dairy industry separating Calf from Cow is a different topic but Milk itself isn't Non-Veg)

  2. Fertilized egg: This is egg which contains unborn baby and hence this is Non-Veg

  3. Unfertilized egg: This is also Non-Veg because for getting unfertilized eggs, you will have to separate Hen from Rooster. Separating wife (Hen) from Husband (Rooster) is immoral and hence unfertilized egg is also Non-Veg. mahAbhArata Adi parva ch. CXVIII also considers this a sinful act as deer censures/curses pAndu for denying sexual relation between male & female animal:

The sexual intercourse is agreeable to every creature and productive of good to all. But that effort of mine hath been rendered futile by thee.

Ayurvedic canonical text charaka samhita (sutra sthana) chapter 27 also puts eggs under the category of meat.

Atharvaveda 8.6.23 also condemns the consumption of eggs:

Ya aamam maansamadanti paurusheyam cha ye kravih Garbhaan khaadanti keshavaastaanito naashayaamasi
We ought to destroy those who eat cooked as well as uncooked meat, meat involving destruction of males and females, foetus and eggs.

ekAntika
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