do cows lay eggs?

i'm sorry, i cannot help myself.  it recently came to my attention that not everyone is aware of the definition of dairy.  and what food groups or types are encompassed within the realm of dairy.

biggest area of confusion: eggs.

it blows.my.mind.  literally brought me to a standstill, halts all other thoughts, and baffles me.  folks are not aware of the difference between eggs and dairy. 

both are animal byproducts.  but all animal byproducts are not dairy.  eggs, at the point at which we're purchasing and consuming them, are essentially a dead fetus.  nothing creamy about that. (let's not get creative if you want to dispute the creamy factor...)

it came to my attention last night, as i was chatting with someone who indicated they have sensitivity to dairy products.  she said, "you would be surprised at how many foods have dairy in them that you wouldn't expect.  like eggs." 

i paused.  confused.  then gave the benefit of the doubt.  "you mean, like, scrambled eggs?  can't you just not add milk?" 

her response: "eggs are dairy."

and then i laughted out loud, realizing her mistake and unable to eloquently form words.  in that moment, i sincerely believed she may be the one silly person in the world who thought that eggs were in some way a milk product. 

and then i started asking around.  and google searching.  and i realized: i was way, way too quick to judge.

first came my boyfriend.  "babe, please tell me that you realize eggs are not a dairy product."  his response floored me.  "maybe if i thought about it, i would say no, but my gut reaction probably would have been yes, eggs are dairy...i'm not sure i would really be able to tell you what the difference is."

for the record:  my boyfriend is one smart dude.

and so i continued.  i polled around the office.  out of five people, only one was able to confidently tell me that "no, eggs are not a dairy product - they're more of a meat, or a protein."  pretty close.  the others?  "yeah, eggs are dairy.  they're in the dairy section of the grocery store."

are grocery stores to blame for the confusion of the american consumer? 

i searched further.  i searched the glorious google.  and couldn't believe the response i found when i typed, "are eggs dairy" into the search bar.

site after site responded, suggesting that this is a commonplace misconception.  commonplace!?  absurd.  but true.

clearly, i have been too quick to judge.  what i have deemed common knowledge is, in fact, not so commonly understood after all.

so let's go through some basics.  have you ever seen a cow lay eggs?

have you ever seen a bird suckling her chicks?  even better - have you ever seen bird nipples!?  (if you have, show me a picture to prove it)

dairy products come from MILK. milk comes from mammals. mammals have nipples, with which they feed their babies. and, fortunately for some of us - human kind. cows milk. sheeps milk. goats milk. milk. 

birds and cows are entirely different animal classes.  birds are birds - or avians.  cows are mammals.  need a quick review?  animal classifications.

i am sorry to those whom i have been too quick to judge.  i hope i have appropriately informed you and am available to respond to questions (feel free to comment).

whew.  had to get that out of my system.

(for the record:  you DO have nipples.  so yes - you are a mammal.  just like a cow.)