Despite Trump's Promises, Eggs Are About to Get Way More Expensive
The Agriculture Department announced Wednesday that the current cost of eggs could rise by more than 40 percent before the end of the year.
The sticker-shock warning came amid the unveiling of a new plan by the Trump administration to alleviate egg prices, which included investing another $1 billion in helping American farms tighten up biosecurity to keep the avian flu out of their broods and outsourcing up to 100 million eggs from other countries to feed the American market.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also proposed stripping regulations from the egg industry to further dampen the rising price tags, even as one of the largest egg producers in the nation faces scrutiny for managing to raise revenues and profits amid the ongoing food crisis, and while small businesses across the nation struggle with containing the rampant illness.
Avian flu—which is largely spread by wild fowl—has added incredible strain on American chicken farmers, extinguishing some small businesses overnight as they contend with infection in their roosts. If just one hen tests positive for the H5N1 virus, it could precipitate the preventative deaths of the entire flock.
The disease, which so far has affected 166 million birds since 2022, temporarily shuttered New York City's poultry markets earlier this month and skyrocketed the cost of a standard dozen eggs to more than $12 in Key Foods and C-Town amid a nationwide egg shortage within the last few weeks. In Connecticut, the price for a dozen eggs at Stop & Shop approached $20.
But the USDA's revelation that egg prices could grow by another 40 percent flies in the face of Donald Trump's repeated promises to lower the cost of groceries and the American public's cost of living. On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to lower costs for American consumers on 'day one.' But a month into his second administration, Trump has routinely avoided detailing specifics for how he's going to provide relief for Americans' wallets.
Meanwhile, House Republicans in Washington passed a budget resolution Tuesday that will gut Medicaid—which provides health insurance to more than 72 million Americans—by $880 billion in order to extend Trump's tax plan, which will overwhelmingly benefit corporations and is projected to add as much as $15 trillion to the national deficit.
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