# Are Eggs Meat? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 27, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857 "2006-01-27T16:24:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857/41 "2006-01-29T23:48:25Z")
> [@](#): > > the Roman rite does not have dietary laws regarding dairy products, so it is not an issue, there. It did at one time, though, prohibiting dairy and eggs on days of abstinence, though this hasn’t been the case for the past few hundred years. The big difference between the Eastern and the traditional Western disciplines of abstinence is that in the East, fish is considered halfway between shellfish and flesh meat, so it is prohibited on days of strict fasting, while in the West it has always been allowed on fast days. Even the pre-Roman Celtic monks, who were known for the extreme severity of their fasting, permitted fish to be eaten. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857/42 "2006-01-30T00:05:10Z")
Aren’t fish held in some special regard? Fishes with fins, anyway. As examples, the “loaves and fishes”, and the symbol of Jesus. There are more, I think, but the old synapses refuse to bring them to the front right now. Oh yeah, Jonah’s whale\*. Or should I say “the whale’s Jonah”? And, of course, all the fishes during The Flood. \*The sillies didn’t know that a whale is a mammal. (I know. “Big fish”) mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857/43 "2006-01-30T10:32:53Z")
In my opinion, eggs are meat, because they are counted as a protein source, just like chicken or tuna or beef. And while the dairy products also have protein, they are valued more for their calcium content. So when I sit down to eat a meal, and I know I need so much protein for the day, if an egg is on the plate it gets counted in that category. If cheese is on the plate it could go either way, but usually toward my dairy quota. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857/44 "2006-01-30T11:22:04Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Of course they are, they’re muscle fibers - smooth muscle, but muscle nonetheless. > > (Runs to check anatomy book…the three types of muscle…striated, smooth, cardiac, …digestive tract…) > > Yep, smooth muscles lining internal organs. > > Meat! Do liver and kidneys have smooth muscle? They aren’t actually part of the digestive tract. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857/45 "2006-01-30T15:01:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Do liver and kidneys have smooth muscle? They aren’t actually part of the digestive tract. Not to mention such variety meats as brain, sweetbreads, and testicles. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857/46 "2006-01-30T15:18:27Z")
And, for that matter, items that are composed entirely of adipose and/or connective tissue; pork rinds, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857/47 "2006-01-30T15:45:49Z")
So is chicken sperm considered meat? I mean, I’m just, uh, wondering. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857/48 "2006-01-30T16:49:14Z")
Mmmmm… Chicken M&Ms. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857/49 "2006-01-30T22:34:43Z")
> [@](#): > > And, for that matter, items that are composed entirely of adipose and/or connective tissue; pork rinds, for example. And beef tendon. Glorious, delicious beef tendon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-eggs-meat/341857.md?page=2)