{veganism} I prefer to let animals be, but for eggs why don’t ALL people choose “caipira”?

I want to first say, that the choice I’ve made for myself is to live a primarily vegan lifestyle, which I heartily recommend for a number of reasons. But I also know this is not the choice for most, which is why I am sharing truthfully about this topic. I think when we do BETTER, even if it is not (depending on how you look at it!) the PERFECT choice… well… it’s still BETTER. And I am grateful for the times when friends and strangers are doing their part to do BETTER. <3

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The other day, I was craving eggs. I was almost definitely not actually going to EAT an egg, but it was a desire I had. I said it out loud to my husband, really just in passing as I was trying to figure out what would satisfy this desire that would be raw and vegan. At the time, I was at his cafe, where he does make omelets sometimes for customers. So he actually HAD eggs and thought I would make an omelet for myself.

He told me straight up:

You can’t have these eggs. You wouldn’t like them. They’re from the factory.”

My honest question to him was, “Really?!”

He was busy, and working, so I didn’t feel it was the appropriate time to push much on the topic.

Frankly, though, I was shocked. I would have expected him to have bought “caipeira” eggs, the ones from a small farm where the chickens run around and live happy little lives without having their beaks cut and living a tortured, pathetic life.

But he did not. He bought the eggs from the big supermarket. The only eggs the big market had.

So today at the farmers market, after having had my fresh coconut and buying some lovely herbs and dandelion greens, I stopped at the farm stand with eggs.

They had several types of eggs. Some were white and uniform, like what you find in the USA. Those were the cheapest. Some were brown, varying in size, with mixes of speckles and appearance. Those were more than double the price of the cheap white eggs.

I asked in my less-than-perfect Portuguese about the difference for the animals. The gentleman (His name was Marcos. ) told me the “caipeira” eggs were stronger. I clarified that I really didn’t care about that part. I wanted to know WHY they would be stronger. WHAT the difference is for the chickens. How they live.

Basically, he told the difference was that the white eggs were from a factory farm. And the speckled eggs were from a small farm where the chickens run free. And I’ll tell you, I’ve seen plenty of them around here! lol! They truly do run free in Brazil. It’s quite common to drive by the houses in the countryside and to see the chickens running around a big yard with only the fence for the ENTIRE property in sight. It’s quite funny for me to see, because it’s not something I’m accustomed to.

So, I bought the “caipeira” eggs for my husband’s cafe. I did not ask him to pay me back. I just wanted him to have a BETTER option. And in the process, I developed a relationship with the vendors at the market, Andreia and Marcos. They were actually so interested in my questions, and of course I stick out with my accent, that they asked me some questions of their own! I told them I almost never consume anything from an animal, that I think it’s very strange the way animals are treated. And I got to tell them about green smoothies! haha! The whole town seems to be talking about those green smoothies (I even overheard a conversation in passing at the market today!!!)… So they say they will stop by the cafe and check them out!

I honestly think that being APPRECIATIVE of the options and being KIND and LOVING in these conversations (not a foaming-at-the-mouth Angry Vegan stereotype!), does a lot to help people see different options! And every smoothie those meat-eaters consume… is that much less meat consumed! Although that is a topic for another day…

I’m smiling as I write this also after seeing how loving and appreciative Carlos was for me buying those eggs for him. I was not pushy about it, was just extending a kind gesture, and he saw that. The AWESOME result is that he on the spot committed to make the full switch from factory-farmed eggs to the twinky-dink farm speckled eggs. Because food of any kind ~ but especially food from LIVE ANIMALS who need space and exercise and a LIFE ~ really ought not come from a factory!

So what he’s doing now, it’s BETTER. And I love him for appreciating the gesture and always striving to do better when he sees how much it means to me and the animals and people around us.

I wonder, if you are choosing to eat eggs, is there a BETTER option for you too? I hope you will consider it.

xxo Eva

I take your privacy very seriously

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