EGGS are NOT a Vegetarian Food item
updated 12th December 2011

Dear Friends,

Check these photos and understand Egg is vegetarian or non vegetarian?

Question: But what about the unfertilized egg? People will point out that eggs are just a product if the chickens body just like milk is a product of the cow's body.

Also people say if unfertelized eggs are not vegetartian then cow's milk is not either?

So how do we answer this?

Krishna Himself is extremely fond of milk and milk products - this settles the whole debate. You may also wish to learn that, since time immemorial, Vaishnavas and non-Vaishnava Vedantins alike have had no qualms about go-rasa, as it is also called, and have offered it to their deities as well as drunk it themselves. Eggs, on the other hand, are anything but sattvika, even when not fertilised, and I find the comparison to be just a silly argument by those who are unsympathetic to Vedic ideals. The question should be: would you offer unfertilised eggs to Sri Sri Radha-Krishna as prasada? See, the answer to this question is not as difficult as you may think.

Radhe Radhe

Egg is 100% NON Vegetairan as it comes out of the flesh and turns into a full grown chicken where as the milk of cows which comes out of the flesh again dosent turn into any as such and remains milk or curd, butter, ghee etc etc .......so Do not eat EGG's at any cost

For: they are unfertilised and are not alive, and the chicken already must produce the egg whether unfertilised or not. It is not alive, but a by-product of the animal, and nothing is deliberately killed or murdered.

So what do you all think? Will eating eggs ever be sattvic?

I have just read a piece in the papers about a company in Erode, Tamil Nadu that is going to produce "100 percent vegetarian eggs. The article is headlined "Now, eggs to go veg!"

"You have given up meat and fish, but finding it hard to stay away from eggs? Here's some good news for vegetarians who love to tuck in eggs. India's leading egg manufacturer and exporter will launch a "100 percent vegetarian egg" in the coming year both for domestic production and export.  The company is already exporting 100 percent vegetarian egg powder, egg yolk powder and egg albumen powder to 27 countries. So the next time you gobble up an egg pastry, just don't feel guilty. "

What does this poultry company say is a vegetarian egg ?

Their chicks are brought to poultry farms and when slightly older, they are forcibly made to lay eggs – as many as 300 each in a year. The company says that the difference is that while other poultries feed their chickens fishmeal , their company feeds their 1.5 million soya powder.  Therefore their eggs "are fully vegetarian," (This same company , by the way, had its eggs rejected previously by the EU because their eggs contained more antibiotic in each egg than is allowed.)

When I read this I went to the Internet and I found advertisements for vegetarian eggs all over the place . One site that advertises vegetarian eggs  says " Healthy and humane the vegetarian way." And calls them vegetarian because the hens have been fed  natural grains and supplements ( that the word that mans hormones and antibiotics), the hens are not in cages (which means that they are crowded on the floor in closed barns), there are vets on the premises, and the packaging of the egg is recycled plastic.  Other sites confused the word organic, free range with vegetarian.

Unfortunately I also found lots of sites in which people debated whether eggs were vegetarian or not – with so many vegetarians claiming they were.

Is an egg vegetarian ?

The most obvious answer is that an egg comes out of a chicken. It is not from an aubergine or the child of a mango. It is from the sexual organs of an animal. Therefore it cannot be vegetarian.  Why does the chicken have eggs ?  In order to reproduce. The eggs are menstrual blood. If fertilized they turn into chicks.

If not, the egg menstrual blood has been discarded by the hen's body the way women discard their infertile blood every month. So they cannot be  vegetarian by any definition of that term. Don't excuse yourself by confusing the definition of the term.  Would you eat human period blood. That too is discarded eggs. There is a debate on whether human placenta which is the result of abortion can be used in anti-ageing creams . Would that be vegetarian ? After all the human is an animal just like the chicken.

This tendency to reclassify food simply because you want to eat it is annoying. The Bengalis call fish " river vegetables" and the vegetarians eat them. Abroad you have ovo-vegetarians, lacto
vegetarians, ovo lacto vegetarians, piscitarians – anything that will bypass your conscience while filling your stomach.

Let us look at some more arguments made by the pro egg eating vegetarian:

Arg: There are two kinds of eggs , fertile and infertile and the egg industry produces infertile ones. These are vegetarian because there is no life in them.

Ans: Once hens reach maturity, they start laying eggs whether there's a cockerel in the brood of hens or not. It is thought that these eggs are infertile - meaning no chicken will hatch from them it. For instance a woman will get her periods whether she is a virgin or not and that fertile eggs are those in which a cockerel has inseminated the hen . Untrue. All eggs are in the process of becoming fertile and all hens will produce both. Eggs have the possibility for a week and then all of them become infertile. After becoming fertile, they are difficult to cook and consume and the hue and thickness of the shell changes. So poultries sell eggs immediately and those that sell chickens as well  hatch the same sourced eggs and then sell the chicks.

Arg: No chickens died in the process so no cruelty took place

Ans: Battery hens produce infertile eggs. These hens are considered no better than egg-producing machines. The battery hen is an anxious, frustrated, fear-ridden bird forced to spend 10 to 12 months squeezed inside a small wire cage with up to nine other tormented hens. There are usually many tiers of these cages in gloomy sheds which hold a total of 50,000 to 125,000 birds. Caged for life without exercise while constantly drained of calcium to form egg shells, battery hens develop the severe osteoporosis of intensive confinement know as caged layer fatigue. Calcium depleted, millions of hens become paralyzed and die of hunger and thirst inches from their food and water. Their beaks which are as sensitive as fingers are cut off without anesthesia , so that they eat less.

Many die in the process. They are injected with hormones as they will not produce 300 eggs otherwise. They are subjected to long periods of artificial light so they cannot sleep and then long period of darkness for a month so that their feathers fall off artificially. As soon as they start laying less eggs, they are sold to the butcher. Free range chickens are simply chickens that are squashed together on the floor in  massive closed barns with no access to the outside. All chickens – even those that are fed grain and called "organic" are also fed hormones, steroids, antibiotics and chemicals, pesticides and herbicides. All the male chicks are killed at birth and the female hens are killed prematurely, so by buying commercial eggs, you're supporting that process.
However, the extreme cruelty meted out to hens at poultries cannot be the primary argument.  It is not a cruelty issue.Some arguments say that their eggs were taken from backyard hens who roamed free in the village and were kept as family.  So , if I keep a tomato well with a well watered vine and enough water and sun , will it become an animal ?  Similarly, will an egg whose mother was treated well by being allowed the freedom to run around and eat worms , become a vegetable ?

Arg:. An egg that has not been fertilized cannot result in birth of a new animal so it is vegetarian.

Ans: Is a virgin or a  woman who cannot have children a vegetable ? A rooster that has been castrated ( called a capon) so that he no longer produces sperm , is he a vegetable ? Is one's species to be defined by whether they can produce life ? Is the yellow/white in the egg similar to human placental fluid or not ? Yes. So which part resembles a potato ?

Arg: An egg has no more senses than a plant so no pain is involved.

Ans: A plant probably has more senses than an egg – whether chicken or human egg. But that still doesn't make the egg a plant since it is not senses that define a species. Would you say that a man in a coma or a newborn that is mentally and physically deformed is a carrot ?

Arg: It's not slaughter to eat an egg.  It is simply the base nutrients and proteins that are used to construct the chick

Ans:That is called placenta. Would you consider eating human placenta or would you call it human meat or cannibalism ? Human hair is used in commercial biscuits as it contains a chemical called L Cysteine. This has  been denounced  as cannibalism and now the EU is on the verge of banning it. But hair has no life ? So why should that be cannibalism ? Could hair not be classified as vegetables ?

Arg: If chickens ate only vegetarian food , the egg is vegetarian

Ans: 99.99% of all poultries feed their hens bone meal, blood,excreta, the meat of dead chickens, fish, the filth of other animals from rendering plants . "Most of us use fish feed for the hens because soya feed is expensive," says the All India  Poultry Feeds and Egg Producers Association. However , even if they were to be given only grain , would that make them vegetables ? A cow eats grass. Is her meat vegetarian ? Is the chicken's meat eaten by vegetarians ? So how can the meat be non vegetarian and the blood that forms the egg be vegetarian. I am a vegan – am I salad ?

Arg: if  eggs are non-vegetarian then how come many vegetarians eat eggs?

Ans: Murder is illegal and immoral. But so many people commit murders. So shall it be regarded as legal and moral ? Vegetarians are humans and humans – all of them- are self delusional .  Each one of us lives a construct of life that we can cope with and make excuses for. And no greater excuses are made than in the field of eating. There are laws in every country that allow advertisers to exaggerate the quality of their product  but not lie. The vegetarian egg sellers
need to be dealt with legally. And vegetarians who delude themselves need to deal with their own moral issues.

October 14, 2011

I wonder why they are seen in vegetarian recipe books, because they are part of the meat group in the food pyramid. They come from chickens and could potentially grow into chickens, so why it is considered okay (in mainstream society) to eat them if you're a vegetarian? If I was a vegetarian, I would just strictly eat fruits, grains, and vegetables. Thanks for your help! I appreciate it.

Eggs: Vegetarian or Non-Vegetarian?
http://log.amitshah.net/2006/02/eggs-vegetarian-or-non-vegetarian/

Posted on 19 February 2006

In a conversation a while back, Bahubali mentioned that chicken eggs are two kinds, fertile and infertile. Most of the eggs that are consumed are infertile. I didn’t know how that would be possible, but I have learnt to listen. However, this was a very interesting topic. And since it was a topic that dealt with animals and knowing more about them, I decided I would get to the root of the matter (most of you will know I’m a great fan of the cat family — and that I harbour dreams of having a pet tiger some day).

So today I sat down reading up on some websites that had information about eggs. While I got a lot of information in multiple sites, I found a site that has very good information about eggs and maintaining your own pet chickens. This site not only talks about fertile and infertile eggs, it also tells you how much space would you need and how many chicken to have a daily supply of eggs. Very nice indeed.

So what did I find out? I found out that once hens reach maturity, they start laying eggs. Irrespective of wheter there’s a cockerel in among the brood of hens. These eggs are infertile. Meaning they will not hatch and no chicken will come out of it. Fertile eggs are those in which a cockerel has had a part to play. After a cockerel has played its part, the eggs the hens lay will be fertile for about a week.

Also, there’s no difference in the nutritional value between fertile and infertile eggs.

I’m a vegetarian myself (who eats eggs once in a while). This indeed is very good news for me — I have the satisfaction of knowing that I still haven’t killed anything to fill my stomach. There’s always an ongoing debate about what’s considered vegetarian and what’s not — I don’t want to get into that again. I’ve had many of those. However, I’m just happy for what I’ve just now discovered.

This is a post from http://log.amitshah.net/, licensed CC BY-SA.

by Lee Hall / July 15th, 2008

In Vegetarian Society history, vegetarianism means what it sounds like: the custom of preparing, eating, and sharing foods made from a variety of plant sources.

Those who also eat eggs, cream and the like are, to be precise, ovo-lacto-vegetarians.

John Davis, historian for the International Vegetarian Union (the umbrella group of vegetarian societies worldwide), wrote in The Origins of the “Vegetarians” that the word “vegetarian” first appeared between 1838 and 1843, at the Ham House of Ham Common (understandably re-named Alcott House by 1843). The students at this English school, Davis reported, followed a completely plant-based diet, based on the British socialist principles of John Stuart Mill, and the ideas which Bronson Alcott taught in Boston.

Today, vegetarian groups vary in their definitions. Most vegetarians in India never cook with eggs.

But some linguistic capers are afoot. A few months ago, a company in New Delhi launched “low-cholesterol, vegetarian eggs.” In the U.S., the vegetarian-egg label has been spotted at the Trader Joe’s grocery chain. Depending on the target market, the term is used to communicate that the eggs are unfertilized, or that the hens who laid them weren’t fed animal products.

In India especially, the suggestion that certain eggs would be suitable for the vegetarian’s shopping list would change the accepted definition of vegetarian. And that’s just what some corporations would like. To them, India is an untapped market for eggs.

Selling Eggs in India

Skylark Hatcheries is one of India’s largest egg companies.1 Humane Society International (an arm of the Humane Society of the United States), brought Skylark’s management stateside this summer to tour egg factories. Skylark Hatcheries director Surendra Singh said, “After visiting the HSI office and staff, my faith in this society increased.”

Nitin Goel, corporate marketing manager for the Humane Society of the United States in India, also visited. “Around the world,” Goel opined in an HSUS press release, “the trend is away from outdated battery cage systems and toward a more humane and sustainable approach to producing eggs.”2 This ignores the reality that eggs are not part of most traditional foods of India — the birthplace of ahimsa, a rule of conduct that bars the killing or injuring of conscious beings — and that the rapid trend in India to high-volume egg and chicken flesh production is recent; and none of these businesses, regardless of the approach to production, need be promoted at all.3

The National Egg Co-ordination Committee, founded in the early eighties to represent chicken farm owners in India, set out to raise the country’s annual per capita consumption from 19 eggs to about 150 by the end of the twentieth century.4 To this end they’ve pointed out that the eggs produced by their birds are unfertilized and should therefore qualify as vegetarian products.5 They’ve also downplayed cholesterol concerns and advertised egg protein as “second only to mother’s milk for human nutrition.” (It’s no surprise that the chickpeas, peas, lentils and rice that sustained centuries of traditional Indian cuisine contain complete sources of protein.)

“Do not eat eggs,” warned the Indian Vegetarian Congress when egg promoters turned up at a marathon in western India in 1987.6 You’d think animal protectionists could see it in their hearts to back that message. Or at least not thwart it. The Humane Society of the United States holds itself out as the “mainstream force against cruelty, exploitation and neglect.” You might think, then, that the HSUS would steer clear of promoting the eating of any eggs, especially amongst groups that historically haven’t touched them.

I’ll leave to your imagination — or to the excellent educators at HumaneMyth.org — a picture of what happens to the exhausted hens and the male chicks owned by these egg companies. And to the extent that any hens truly do receive more space, that’s space on the face of a finite Earth (read: habitat for other animals) bulldozed over by development and industry.7 It’s bizarre on several levels, then, to see animal advocates lavishing praise and international travel on an egg company.

But the Humane Society’s egg crusaders are on a roll. Just a few months before the Indian executives were flown to its offices, a release appeared from a competing group, the American Humane Association, which had certified cage-free and organic lines from Eggland’s Best, “America’s No. 1 branded egg,” as “produced humanely.”8 The release called this certification “a watershed moment for the growing humane animal certification movement.” The American Humane Association also pointed out that (in 1999) they developed the first such certification process in the United States.

American Humane promised marketing benefits to producers who would pick their label, and the release offered a platform for the CEO of Eggland’s Best to talk about “delivering the best tasting and most nutritious eggs to our consumers.”

After a few years of similar promotions in the United States, eggs from “cage-free” hens have become so popular that national shortages were reported by 2007.9

This year, the Humane Society of the United States issued a press release which “praised Kegg Farms today for being the first egg producer in India” to introduce the term “cage-free” on egg packages.10 An industry publication noted the “shower of praise” this company was getting for the new “cage-free” label11; and the Humane Society even circulated its own picture with the caption “Cage-free hens at Kegg Farms,” showing a large collection of snow-white birds.

But look around a bit at the business publications, and you’ll learn more: “Kegg Farms’ genetically-bred chicken survives on waste, weighs more and gives more eggs than the normal village bird.”

That’s right. The vaunted Kegg company is noted for pressing chickens to turn out five times as many eggs in their “18-month cycle” as other birds, and ensuring they’re genetically bred to eat waste.

More Than a Diet

To the founders of the Vegetarian Society — both in England and in North America — vegetarianism was an ethical commitment. By the early 1900s, the Vegetarian Society’s Vegetarian Messenger expressly supported a diet free of eggs and dairy, listing both ethical and health objections to the use of these foods. The claim that products derived from chickens are “vegetarian” is incompatible with this history.

Animal advocates who see the use of birds as fundamentally unjust would simply withhold their support for such businesses. They could then ask others to similarly disengage from the industry, thereby cultivating a movement that respects traditions of dynamic nonviolence.

True animal advocacy supports and joins, rather than confounds, the vegetarian movement.

    HSUS press release: “Indian Egg Industry Leaders Travel to USA to Explore Cage-Free Housing Systems for Hens” (10 Jun. 2008). [?]
    In the “Facts” section of same release, the HSUS states: “While cage-free does not mean cruelty-free, cage-free hens generally have 250 percent to 300 percent more space per bird and the hens are able to act more naturally than caged hens. Cage-free hens may not be able to go outside, but they are able to walk, spread their wings and lay their eggs in nests — all behaviors denied to hens confined in battery cages.” Tribe of Heart’s “Take the ‘Cage-Free’ Test” offers a sobering counterpoint. [?]
    For a description of vegetarian resistance to egg promotions in India, see Sanjoy Hazarika, “Campaign for Egg Eating Stirs Storm in India,” New York Times (27 Dec. 1987). The same promotional trend surrounds the bodies of chickens themselves. Spotting an emerging market, Tyson Foods Inc. this year acquired majority ownership of Godrej Foods Ltd., forming Godrej Tyson Foods, with annual sales to begin around $50 million and grow as the corporation expands. India has more than a billion people, and while the per capita consumption of chicken flesh is currently less than five pounds a year, its annual growth rate of more than 10 percent is among the world’s highest. See Tom Johnston, “Tyson Enters Joint Venture in India,” MeatingPlace.com (30 Jun. 2008; quoting Rick Greubel, international president for Tyson Foods). [?]
    “Campaign for Egg Eating Stirs Storm in India” (note 3; quoting the committee’s spokesperson, P. V. R. Murthy). [?]
    See ibid. [?]
    “Campaign for Egg Eating Stirs Storm in India” (note 3). [?]
    Underscoring this point is a recent study by Adrian Williams, PhD., senior research fellow at Cranfield University in Britain, indicating battery egg production has a 10% lower impact on global warming than conversion to all free-range egg production; converting to all organic egg production, the study predicts, would cause an increase of effects on global warming by 40%. This is because free-range and organic farms have more need for green space, food and energy than battery eggs. [?]
    The American Humane Association’s news release “Eggland’s Best To Receive Certification By American Humane Association” (8 Oct. 2007) was followed a week later by a similarly worded release in Food & Drink Quarterly. [?]
    Kim Severson, “Bringing Moos and Oinks Into the Food Debate,” International Herald Tribune (25 Jul. 2007). [?]
    HSI press release: “Kegg Farms Becomes First Indian Egg Producer to Label Eggs ‘Cage-Free’” (2 Apr. 2008) (visited 2 Jul. 2008). For more on the entanglement of animal-advocacy organizations with global animal agribusiness, see the Humane Myth Analysis of the Humane Society of the United States and its new ‘Humane Choice’ label. [?]
    The Poultry Site: “Indian Egg-layers Escape the Cage,” Poultry News (10 Apr. 2008) (visited 2 Jul. 2008). [?]

By Paula Carnogoy (Only Cookware)

What is a vegetarian? On the surface, that sounds like an easy question. A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat meat. But where exactly do you draw the line? Is fish or other seafood considered to be meat? What about eggs and dairy products? These and similar questions can lead to some confusion over what exactly constitutes a vegetarian diet.

Broadly speaking, the following are the most common terms applied to vegetarians:

Vegetarians

Most people who describe themselves simply as vegetarian will refuse to eat any kind of animal flesh, including red and white meat, fish and seafood, and products derived from the bodies of animals such as gelatin. As a rule of thumb, if an animal had to die in order for the item to be produced, it is off the menu for vegetarians. On that basis, eggs and dairy products are acceptable.

Semi-Vegetarians

This term is sometimes used for people who don't swear off eating meat altogether, but they do avoid certain types of animal products. For example, they might only eat white meat like poultry, seafood or fish, while avoiding beef, pork and other red meats. Or a semi-vegetarian might restrict their meat consumption to rare occasions.

Some "real" vegetarians are scornful of the term semi-vegetarian, on the basis that you are either vegetarian or you are not. Others will argue that any attempt to reduce meat consumption should be applauded, and will encourage a semi-vegetarian diet among those who aren't ready to go the whole way.

Ovo-Lacto Vegetarians

Ovo-lacto vegetarians are people who don't eat any kind of meat or fish, but who do consume eggs and dairy products, including cheese, butter and milk. Some vegetarians restrict themselves to only one part of this category: ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but no dairy products, whereas lacto-vegetarians do the opposite.

Vegans

Vegans don't eat any animal products whatsoever. Even such items as honey, which is produced by bees, are off the table. Vegans are sometimes called "strict vegetarians", but that term is somewhat misleading as it can also be applied to any vegetarian who is particularly conscientious in keeping to their chosen diet.

Raw-food Diet

Some vegetarians will take their dietary principles a step farther and eat only raw foods. The idea is that many of the important vitamins and nutrients in food are destroyed in the cooking process. People following a raw-food diet (sometimes called a living-food diet) believe that eating uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds is healthier and better for the environment.

Fruitarians

Fruitarians eat only raw fruit and seeds. Unlike followers of a raw-food diet, they don't even eat vegetables, in the belief that the cultivation of vegetables contributes to the destruction of the environment through agriculture.
Why do people choose a vegetarian diet?

There are many reasons why people choose to avoid meat in their diets. They include:

    Moral or ethical concerns. Many vegetarians are simply uncomfortable with the thought that an animal had to suffer and die to provide their meal. Others go vegetarian in protest against the way that animals are raised for food. This is why some people who are vegetarian for ethical reasons also avoid foods that don't kill the animals, like milk and honey, because they fear that the big business surrounding the production of those products hurts the animals.
    Religious reasons. Some religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, encourage their followers to avoid eating animal products. The primary reasons why some religions promote vegetarianism is to follow an ideal of non-violence, to animals and humans alike, and to encourage spiritualism and clear thinking.
    Health issues. Many people turn to vegetarianism because they consider it to be healthier than a meat-based diet. Others (less commonly) are advised by their doctors to avoid meat and meat products.

Paula Carnogoy runs Only Cookware, a resource for professional cookware, stainless steel cookware sets and enamel cast iron cookware.

February 2008
 

Eggless Cakes pages

(You will need Sanskrit98 and Balaram fonts in order to read the text below, download them for FREE HERE)

Bhagavad Gita 9:26 says

Pa}a& PauZPa& f-l&/ TaaeYa& Yaae Mae >a¢-ya Pa[YaC^iTa )
Tadh& >a¢-yuPaôTaMaénaiMa Pa[YaTaaTMaNa" )) 26 ))

patraà puñpaà phalaà toyaà
yo me bhaktyä prayacchati
tad ahaà bhakty-upahåtam
açnämi prayatätmanaù

SYNONYMS
patram—a leaf; puñpam—a flower; phalam—a fruit; toyam—water; yaù—whoever; me—unto Me; bhaktyä—with devotion; prayacchati—offers; tat—that; aham—I; bhakti-upahåtam—offered in devotion; açnämi—accept; prayata-ätmanaù—from one in pure consciousness.

TRANSLATION
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it."

PURPORT
For the intelligent person, it is essential to be in Kåñëa consciousness, engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, in order to achieve a permanent, blissful abode for eternal happiness. The process of achieving such a marvelous result is very easy and can be attempted even by the poorest of the poor, without any kind of qualification. The only qualification required in this connection is to be a pure devotee of the Lord. It does not matter what one is or where one is situated. The process is so easy that even a leaf or a little water or fruit can be offered to the Supreme Lord in genuine love and the Lord will be pleased to accept it. No one, therefore, can be barred from Kåñëa consciousness, because it is so easy and universal. Who is such a fool that he does not want to be Kåñëa conscious by this simple method and thus attain the highest perfectional life of eternity, bliss and knowledge? Kåñëa wants only loving service and nothing more. Kåñëa accepts even a little flower from His pure devotee. He does not want any kind of offering from a nondevotee. He is not in need of anything from anyone, because He is self-sufficient, and yet He accepts the offering of His devotee in an exchange of love and affection. To develop Kåñëa consciousness is the highest perfection of life. Bhakti is mentioned twice in this verse in order to declare more emphatically that bhakti, or devotional service, is the only means to approach Kåñëa. No other condition, such as becoming a brähmaëa, a learned scholar, a very rich man or a great philosopher, can induce Kåñëa to accept some offering. Without the basic principle of bhakti, nothing can induce the Lord to agree to accept anything from anyone. Bhakti is never causal. The process is eternal. It is direct action in service to the absolute whole.
Here Lord Kåñëa, having established that He is the only enjoyer, the primeval Lord and the real object of all sacrificial offerings, reveals what types of sacrifices He desires to be offered. If one wishes to engage in devotional service to the Supreme in order to be purified and to reach the goal of life—the transcendental loving service of God—then one should find out what the Lord desires of him. One who loves Kåñëa will give Him whatever He wants, and he avoids offering anything which is undesirable or unasked. Thus meat, fish and eggs should not be offered to Kåñëa. If He desired such things as offerings, He would have said so. Instead He clearly requests that a leaf, fruit, flowers and water be given to Him, and He says of this offering, "I will accept it." Therefore, we should understand that He will not accept meat, fish and eggs. Vegetables, grains, fruits, milk and water are the proper foods for human beings and are prescribed by Lord Kåñëa Himself. Whatever else we eat cannot be offered to Him, since He will not accept it. Thus we cannot be acting on the level of loving devotion if we offer such foods.
In the Third Chapter, verse thirteen, Çré Kåñëa explains that only the remains of sacrifice are purified and fit for consumption by those who are seeking advancement in life and release from the clutches of the material entanglement. Those who do not make an offering of their food, He says in the same verse, are eating only sin. In other words, their every mouthful is simply deepening their involvement in the complexities of material nature. But preparing nice, simple vegetable dishes, offering them before the picture or Deity of Lord Kåñëa and bowing down and praying for Him to accept such a humble offering enables one to advance steadily in life, to purify the body, and to create fine brain tissues which will lead to clear thinking. Above all, the offering should be made with an attitude of love. Kåñëa has no need of food, since He already possesses everything that be, yet He will accept the offering of one who desires to please Him in that way. The important element, in preparation, in serving and in offering, is to act with love for Kåñëa.
The impersonalist philosophers, who wish to maintain that the Absolute Truth is without senses, cannot comprehend this verse of Bhagavad-gétä. To them, it is either a metaphor or proof of the mundane character of Kåñëa, the speaker of the Bhagavad-gétä. But, in actuality, Kåñëa, the Supreme Godhead, has senses, and it is stated that His senses are interchangeable; in other words, one sense can perform the function of any other. This is what it means to say that Kåñëa is absolute. Lacking senses, He could hardly be considered full in all opulences. In the Seventh Chapter, Kåñëa has explained that He impregnates the living entities into material nature. This is done by His looking upon material nature. And so in this instance, Kåñëa's hearing the devotee's words of love in offering foodstuffs is wholly identical with His eating and actually tasting. This point should be emphasized: because of His absolute position, His hearing is wholly identical with His eating and tasting. Only the devotee, who accepts Kåñëa as He describes Himself, without interpretation, can understand that the Supreme Absolute Truth can eat food and enjoy it. (Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad. Bhagavad Gita As It Is. text and purport 9:26.)