Why Some Vegans Are OK With Eating Oysters

Christine Gallary
Christine GallaryFood Editor-at-Large
Christine graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and she has worked at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW.com. She lives in San Francisco and loves teaching cooking classes. Follow her latest culinary escapades on Instagram.
Follow
updated May 1, 2019
pinterest
comments
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
(Image credit: Sara Kate Gillingham)

If you assumed all vegans eat zero animal products, you assumed incorrectly.

Apparently, some make an exception for oysters. Why?

The reasons why oysters are allowed? Cultivated oysters make up 95% of the oysters consumed but have minimal negative impact on the environment — in fact, they can help improve water quality. (See a tour of an oyster farm in Massachusetts.)

Oysters also don’t have a central nervous system, so the theory is that they do not feel pain like we or other animals do.

So while milk, eggs, and even honey are excluded from a vegan diet, some people make exceptions for this popular bivalve. We’re not sure if that still qualifies them to be called vegans anymore, but what do you think?

→ Read more: Consider the Oyster from Slate

Filed in:
seafood
vegan
Ingredient