Some vegans hold that eating eggs of any kind is unethical, while others at least see this choice as more defensible than other animal foods. Free-range eggs I see as the most ethical of all widely available animal products. So, I thought, two eggs would help smooth the transition, along with protein supplements. The eggs were included because, ever since another series of dietary experiments a few decades earlier, I have found that a high-protein and fairly high-fat diet is best for my general wellbeing. My plan was near vegan, as I allowed myself two eggs each day, and some minor deviations (didn’t worry if I was given butter for my toast, didn’t query the details of Thai sauces, and stayed with my usual fish oil tablets). So I wanted to find out how I felt on a diet with almost no animal products. After spending a lot of time in recent years working on questions about animal minds (initially trying to understand octopuses and other cephalopods, and then moving on from there), the ethical questions around food began to feel quite pressing. But I have eaten animal products, including meat and fish, regularly. For some time, I have tried to eat in a way mindful of ethical issues, avoiding, albeit imperfectly, the products of inhumane factory farming.

What is the most defensible step away from veganism – the best compromise to make, if it is a compromise at all?Ībout a year ago, this question became vivid to me soon after I set out on an experiment: a near-vegan diet for a month. Suppose a person is very concerned about the ethical issues around food and farming, especially animal welfare, but for whatever reason finds that a wholly plant-based diet does not work for them.

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