Poultry experts say eggs laid by vegan chickens are still eggs

A vegan hen will not lay a green, leafy egg. In Canada, that simple truth may have been successfully blurred by fast food giant A&W, which two years ago began advertising that the eggs it serves at breakfast are laid by hens fed a diet of vegetables, grains and vitamins, as part of its campaign to promote “higher standard” ingredients. “What better way to rise and shine in the morning?” the Canadian chain asks on its website. The message is echoed on signs at its 25 restaurants in Nova Scotia, next to the food counters and the drive-thru speakers.  Those signs touched off a recent conversation on social media among egg producers here.  And Nova Scotia poultry experts say no matter how many vegetables a hen eats, an egg is still an egg.  Dr. Bruce Rathgeber is a poultry researcher at Dalhousie University. He confirmed that a vegetarian diet does not change the nutritional content of an egg.