Not a fan of the delivery, but, I think its an interesting point, and that both movements have a similar idea at their core, that life begins at birth / hatching.
I think the parallels are interesting.
but if we go there we need to ask a more fundamental question. (to avoid a misinterpretation of what i am saying, i'd like to make clear that i am not vegan or vegetarian, i do eat meat and eggs)
the question on where life begins is rather irrelevant until we answer the question of where the life of a chicken is supposed to end.
if the possibility that life may begin at conception is going to be a consideration when destroying eggs because they are male, then the same consideration must be made when we chose to eat eggs in the first place.
we can't argue that eating eggs is ok, but destroying them is not.
consequently, as long as we eat eggs the question of when life begins is not really relevant.
the relevant questions are: can we avoid destroying/wasting those eggs at all (can we eat them?) and if ee have to destroy them, what is the most humane way to go about it? my intuition suggests that destroying the eggs is more humane than letting them hatch
That's not quite right. These male chicks are from fertilized eggs. They are the ones that, had they been female, would have become the next set of egg layers.
The eggs we eat, at least the factory farmed variety, and most / all from commercial egg farms are not fertilized. Hens lay whether they've known the touch of a rooster or not. [0].
you are right, yes, the eggs from big producers are not fertilized. i forgot about that detail. but depending on where you are there is a good chance that you can get fertilized eggs as well, or can't be certain that they are not fertilized. nevertheless it does change the equation, because it would be possible to ensure that only unfertilized eggs are consumed. thank you for the correction.
the question on where life begins is rather irrelevant until we answer the question of where the life of a chicken is supposed to end.
if the possibility that life may begin at conception is going to be a consideration when destroying eggs because they are male, then the same consideration must be made when we chose to eat eggs in the first place.
we can't argue that eating eggs is ok, but destroying them is not.
consequently, as long as we eat eggs the question of when life begins is not really relevant.
the relevant questions are: can we avoid destroying/wasting those eggs at all (can we eat them?) and if ee have to destroy them, what is the most humane way to go about it? my intuition suggests that destroying the eggs is more humane than letting them hatch