This new footage from an undercover investigation by Mercy for Animals shows workers at an Iowa hatchery killing 150,000 newborn male chicks every single day.
Chicks born at hatcheries are sent off to slaughter the very day they take their first breath. The only lives these babies know is one in which they are sorted and handled like pieces of garbage. Workers grab them by their wings, toss them onto conveyor belts, and throw them down a chute to spend their final moments in a grinding machine- in which they are ground up while they are still alive.
All this is standard procedure, widely accepted at commercial hatcheries and within the bounds of animal welfare laws. The egg industry considers male chicks to be useless because they don’t lay eggs and can’t be raised profitably for meat. Their sisters are not exactly lucky to remain alive though either, as they’ll most likely endure countless acts of cruelty for the remainder of their short lives.
The unfortunate fact of the matter is that if you eat eggs, you are supporting this. Millions of male chicks each year are born in hatcheries and promptly thrown into the blades of giant garbage disposals, just because they are “useless” to the industry.
For some vegetarian and vegan egg alternatives, see below. Many are available in health food stores and grocers. You can also purchase them online through the manufacturer or their retailers. If you have difficulty finding them at your local store you can ask a clerk to help you, or politely request them if unavailable.
Amy’s Kitchen® Tofu Scramble Breakfast
Dixie Diner’s Club™ Egg (Not!)™ Egg Replacer
- Used by most vegans and strict vegetarians when baking. It uses natural ingredients like potato starch, tapioca flour, leavening and cellulose gum to make your pancakes, cookies, mufins, cakes, and other baked goods turn out just as fluffy as if you had eggs in them, but cholesterol and guilt free.
Fantastic Foods® Tofu Scrambler
- When mixed with tofu, this can be used to make a tasty dish that’s very similar to scrambled eggs. While you probably wouldn’t fool anyone into thinking the resulting dishes are actual scrambled eggs, they are quite delicious and fill your cravings quite well.
Orgran™ “No Egg” Egg Replacer
VegeCyber® Frozen Gourmet™ Eggless Fried Eggs
