PSA: Eggs Are Not Dairy, Despite Being Sold In The Dairy Aisle

It's a common misconception. We walk down the grocery aisle, pick up our eggs, then the milk, choose our cheese, and grab some yogurt and without even thinking our brain assumes that those foods all fall under the same classification; that they are all dairy. And images like this one below only make it more confusing.

Why are people taking pictures of eggs with milk, butter and cheese? Because they are confused. So let us set the record straight: Eggs are not dairy. Never have been, never will be -- no matter how many times people photograph them together, or how many supermarkets set them side by side.

It seems sort of obvious when you think about it, but who really stops to ponder on the classification of eggs? We applaud you if you're one of the few that have, but if you haven't, allow us to explain. Dairy is a product of the mammary gland of mammals. Basically, it refers to milk and anything made from milk, like cheese, butter and yogurt. And eggs are not made from milk. They don't even come from a milk-producing animal. The eggs we eat come from poultry, chickens mainly.

While we suspect that the confusion can all be blamed on the layout of supermarkets and deceptive images, another explanation is that eggs are referred to as an animal byproduct. Animal byproduct, dairy product -- to-may-to, to-mah-to -- it all sounds so similar. But now we know, eggs are just eggs -- and milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream, those are all dairy.

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