I have noticed a few threads here lately about vegetarianism, testing on animals, and eating animals in general.

I thought I would let you all about some alternatives, if you are interested ... somewhere between ignorant mass consumption and total vegetarianism.

You can purchase free-range eggs, instead of regular eggs. Free-range eggs are eggs that are brought to you the "old fashioned" way. The chickens are free to move about, living a fairly normal, natural life. The eggs are gathered by hand from nests. Yes, they are a little more expensive, but it is nominal - I think they are something like 30 cents more per dozen here than regular eggs. I won't go into it here in detail, because it is VERY disturbing, but trust me - the chickens that produce regular eggs have the worst possible "lives" of almost any animal I've ever heard of. Death would be a far, far kinder fate.

You can also buy dairy products from free-range cattle, although they are little harder to find at times.

Just FYI - there ARE ways to make a difference in the lives - and deaths - of animals without totally giving up all meat and animal products.