Are Eggs vegetarian? Engaging as a Hindu
I wanted to pen this article down after recently witnessing a circus on twitter where a content creator made his stand that eggs are vegetarian. While I honestly don’t have a an issue with such claims (I disagree with the point though, just not interested), I saw that the debate by Twitterati, at its core ended up being a discussion on "Brahmins" being casteist / a high caste low caste debate (so that other general Savarna castes don’t feel left out on being Oppressors) on one side and people refuting this on the other.
While Caste does indeed have a role here, I wanted to highlight what I saw as an incorrect way of thinking about Indian Vegetarianism and General Food Habits. Not everything is a scheme by us Brahmins to make everyone else's life miserable you see...though sometimes, I do feel we should keep more to ourselves and leave the rest of you lot to your own devices...(More of that for a later day should I be able to articulate it). The last disclaimer I make is that these are my views based on my understanding of the topic and my own lived experience. I know that it can be made better with reference (of which there are several should one Google the topic), but this is just me emptying some of the clutter in my head.
Coming back to our point.
Indian (Hindu) food habits are the end result of interpretation of various Religious and Social Texts (Vedas, Dharma Shastras, Upanishads, and several more localized work across our vast land). While Vegetarianism is indeed praised by all commentators and seen as ideal, it has not been the norm across all communities.
The one point where all do converge (despite several dishonest attempts to show otherwise) is that Cow meat is forbidden for consumption. They draw down to the Godly and Motherly Nature of Cows in general and our dependence on them for our needs. There are a few who make reference to vague translations of sacrifices (probably involving bulls) but simply refuse to engage with the traditional explanation for such events. The Hindu side has maintained for the longest time that Cow meat is not to be consumed. Buffaloes don’t get this same treatment and that has lead to several comic literatures on the reason for this.
But this is where it gets less clear. There seem to be less agreement on
- What meat can be eaten
- Who can eat it
No one can ask as to why did people spend so much time opinionating on these things. My life my rules and all that jazz... Well is it so different from today’s world where Scientists, Doctors, Gym Bros and Grand moms duke it out on what food is best, how to cook it, when to eat, how much to eat ? Which food is best to boost mental health, what about strength, how to reduce inflammation etc. The major difference seems to be the lack of importance given to spiritual or religious pursuits in the modern debate as compared to the old one.
Essentially, Food choices were arrived at based on a combination of experience, understanding of human health (at that point in time) as well as an attempt to develop beyond the physical realm.
The result, a comprehensive set of rules that had a good amount of variation based on region, caste and other physiological or sociological parameters. Basically, Ayurveda and its allied texts.
But why am I rambling on about this? Basically my point is, if something was "banned" or restricted, there were several factors deciding the case and it wasn’t a simple situation of the Bad Brahmin making it difficult for others. Ayurvedic Practitioners and even Community Leaders came from several castes and all of them over centuries laid down several "Rules' for Eating and Living life.
The rearing of animals as an industry for meat and milk has seen tremendous change over centuries and some rules on what animals were fit for consumption can arise from early attempts at preventing disease in both those animals as well as the Humans consuming them.
And many of these rules have changed over the years, sometimes not by design. Non vegetarians who swear by Chicken Tikka may be surprised to know that domesticated chicken were not considered fit for consumption a few centuries ago. The preferred meat was Mutton, with wild fowl, some fish and Wild Pork (I am not sure why this preference for the undomesticated cousins). In fact, I have read of accounts where Monitor Lizards were consumed more frequently by various communities. The last century has seen dramatic changes in what is acceptable based on a few famines, wars and rapid developments in animal husbandry. Chickens are now probably the most consumed animal in the world.
And not to leave Vegetarians alone, the most famous restrictions even today are on Onions and Garlic (these restrictions apply to Meat eaters also funnily enough as I highlight below). But if one sees regional variations, one would be surprised at how many vegetables /greens that are consumed by one community in one area are avoided by the same community /caste in another region. An example from my own Udupi Brahmin Community is concerning the Malabar Spinach or Besale. People from my Caste traditionally don’t consume this vegetable on some grounds of Caste I assume. But I have seen Brahmins in the same region but from other Sects /Sub Castes consume the same vegetable.
Confusing isn’t it?
My point is.. Don’t generalize Food Debates in the Indian /Hindu context as simply a Caste Issue. Go deeper and see what the actual reason is.
Another small example on the variety as well as convergence of such rules. A friend of mine from the Mythili Brahmin Community (from Bihar) told me that their community eat Goat meat that has been ritually sacrificed to their Village Deities but at the same time she did not taste an Onion till she was in her teens (that too in secret) since their household considered Onions as Tamasic (which is the orthodox stance as well across the Country). And conversely, there are several non Brahmin Castes (a few may be what were once considered lower castes as well) which are Vegetarian, muddying the waters still regarding notions of Caste and Vegetarianism.
Now finally, coming back to the Egg. There is no doubt that they are nutritious and are a cheap way to get protein for a large chunk of the population. However, there are some restrictions on their consumption from traditional sources. There is of course the matter of ending the life of the unborn chicken (assuming it is fertilized), but the operative word is "unborn" or fetus and hence there arises a further reluctance to harm the animal before it draws its first breath. Hindusim being a predominantly "Pro Life"' religion makes it more uncomfotable for adherents to eat eggs (at least this has been the case).
Arguments have been raised that in today's' age where there is a lot more control on the egg laying process and most eggs that are consumed today are unfertilized. However it cannot be denied that the constituents of an egg under the right circumstances can develop into a living chick. Something that happens in no condition with cow milk (here we preemptively stop smart Alecs who love using this as a convoluted example. But we do recognize the Vegan's assertion that industrial milking of cows is in general quite harmful to them.). So for all purposes, eggs are still going to be considered "Non Veg" unless there is a Pan Indian convergence of various Sampradayas /Religious Sects to decide otherwise. And that looks to be unlikely as well.
So yes, argue for more consumption of eggs for general health. But do not do it on the back of random thought experiments, Caste baiting or Brahmin Bashing. There are other topics where these can be put to better use.