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Are Eggs Dairy Or Poultry
Eggs are not considered poultry as well as dairy. Dairy products are made from milk which only comes from mammals, not birds. So eggs are not dairy at all whereas poultry refers to the meat of the domestic birds, not their eggs. As a result, we can say that they are not poultry as well.
While eggs can be found on dairy aisles, often in groups with dairy products, they are not a dairy product. In the U.S. and several other countries, eggs are stored in grocery stores in the dairy aisle, which can make people think eggs and dairy are related. Eggs and dairy products are also frequently shelved next to one another in supermarkets, which may lead consumers to associate the two. Grocers usually showcase dairy products and eggs in a single cooler, either close to each other in the store or at the back, so that customers must walk across the entire store to reach them.
Milk, Cheese, Butter, and Eggs are usually sold near one another at a grocery store, often in the area designated as the Dairy Department. Although you will often find eggs near the milk in a grocery store, eggs are not considered to be a form of dairy. Foods made with milk that does not contain much calcium, such as cream cheese, cream, and butter, are not considered dairy.
Dairy products refers solely to foods made with milk, and they are not to be classified alongside eggs. With the clear distinction between eggs and dairy products, it is usually safe for someone who has an allergy to dairy products to consume eggs, just like it is for someone who has an egg allergy to consume dairy products. So, just like eating dairy does not impact someone who has an egg allergy, eating eggs does not impact someone who has either a dairy allergy or a lactose intolerance — unless they are allergic to both.
| Dairy Foods | Poultry Foods |
| Milk | Eggs |
| Cheese | Chicken |
| Yogurt | Turkey |
In general, most people who are lactose-intolerant and who are allergic to milk are still able to enjoy eggs, just like someone who has an egg allergy is able to enjoy milk. If someone needs to avoid foods that contain dairy because of allergies or intolerances, then he does not have to eliminate eggs because of that. People following a dairy-free diet specifically, without any other food restrictions, can, and often do, eat eggs.
If eggs were milk, then including one in a largely milk-free baked good (again, bread comes to mind) would bother lots of people all over the world. While this may sound obvious, considering dairy comes primarily from cows, and cows do not lay eggs, you would be surprised at how many people are baffled on the matter. Some just say dairy comes from cows, eggs from chickens, and this really helps people understand just how different these two things are.
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Just as cows have milk, or goats have milk, eggs are byproducts of chickens, and thus they do not bear the same poultry tag. Eggs are not just an entirely different kind of food than milk, but also come from another animal class altogether. Being in the birds class, chickens lay eggs, whereas mammals have babies and make milk for feeding the babies.
Milk products are produced by cows in the dairy industry, eggs by chickens in poultry farms. Vegans, however, eschew any products produced by animals, including things like eggs or even honey. Vegan products and recipes must be made without dairy products and eggs, as vegans consume no animal products.
Another reason why we may associate the term dairy with eggs is because some vegetarians or vegans will use it as a blanket term to refer to any animal byproduct. If a product is marked as dairy-free, it may still contain eggs; if the product is marked eggs-free, it might contain dairy. This also explains why you may see something marked as dairy-free, but not necessarily be vegan, since if it contains eggs, then it is not vegan.
Eggs are considered Pareve, whereas, obviously, the rest of the dairy aisle, including yogurt, butter, and cheese, are all dairy products; thus, although something Pareve is safe for someone who is sensitive to dairy, it might not be suitable for someone who is allergic to eggs. Eggs, however, are considered parve in Jewish culture, meaning that they contain no meat or dairy derivatives, nor are they cooked with or mixed with those foods. Even though eggs are not considered meat, eggs are included in the protein group of foods, as they are very high in protein.
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Eggs are in the same grouping as poultry and other meats; an egg is equal to an ounce of protein. Let us Eat Eggs Along With Milk, Eggs have the highest biovalue (or gold standard) of protein. While eggs are unfertilized birds eggs, milk comes from the milk intended to nourish mammalian offspring. Eggs are NOT A DAIRY PRODUCT The definition of dairy includes foods produced by milk from mammals, such as cows and goats (1).
Eggs and dairy products bear so few similarities, and serve so many different functions in recipes, that conflating them sounds nonsense. They are not, dairy and egg products have been woven together in ways quite significant to the production of foods and their marketing. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture has classified eggs as meat and protein products, rather than as a dairy product, over the last 100 years. I read a lot of people blaming the Food Pyramid, but the official Food Pyramid, 1992-2010, classified eggs with meat, not milk.
MyPlate, the modern U.S. Department of Agricultures food pyramid, includes eggs alongside other sources of protein, such as meat, poultry, and legumes–it does not share any room for dairy in MyPlate, even though it has a protein-rich quality. Although eggs are, in fact, a food that comes from animals, USDAs MyPlate groups eggs with other sources of protein, like meat, poultry, fish, nuts, and beans. Because they are protein and fat, they can be comfortably placed into their own category, since they are not meat, fish, or dairy products.
In some ways, eggs are in a category of their own, even though they have a lot of similarities to other animal-based foods. Dairy products and eggs are avoided by vegans and some vegetarians because they are derived from animals, possibly contributing to the clustering. Eggs can also be classified differently than other animal products by vegetarians because the animal is not killed for the purpose of making the food.
As we go through a store and pick up our dairy products, we often pick up eggs too, possibly contributing to this confusion. Like the peas in the pod, people often buy cows milk, butter, and eggs together, too, because cows milk is a common, but necessary, ingredient in baked goods and desserts.
Why do people think eggs are dairy?
The resemblance between the terms “dairy product” and “animal byproduct” may possibly be to blame for the speculation. But regardless of the cause of the widespread misunderstanding, eggs are not a dairy product. Food sources generated by mammals with mammary glands, such as cows, goats, and sheep, make up dairy products.
Are eggs considered poultry?
Normally, chickens tend to be poultry, so most of the eggs that people consume are produced by chickens. Eggs are an animal by-product. Specifically, they are eggs that chickens have not fertilized. As a kind of analogy, you can think of them as cow’s milk. “It is also important to remember that eggs do not originate from poultry,” Cording concludes.
Are hard-boiled eggs considered dairy?
On the other hand, dairy products originate from milk meant to provide nutrition to the offspring of mammals rather than eggs, which are the unfertilized offspring of birds. In addition to being known protein sources, animal products such as eggs and dairy products are, along with being known protein sources, considered animal products.