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Miami Herald
16-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Easter egg hunts in jeopardy as egg prices hit highs
While the great egg price hike of 2025 might not garner the same number of headlines as the great toilet paper shortage of 2020, it has nonetheless been a topic of conversation and cause for consternation across the country. Egg prices have been sky-high for most of the last year; in January 2025, a dozen eggs cost around $4.90, almost double the cost from a year earlier. Just two months later, in March, the average price of a dozen eggs had jumped by 27% to $6.20, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The current round of the devastating outbreak began in 2022, but it really started to spread in March 2024. This outbreak has infected more than 167 million birds across 17 states. Related: Trader Joe's cracks down on customer problem Eggs have been in such short supply and high demand that some stores like Costco, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods are even limiting the number of eggs customers can buy. Check-out clerks are expected to enforce store policy. Breakfast restaurants like Waffle House and Denny's have also added a surcharge to menu items that contain eggs. Things are slowly getting better. In January the World Health Organization reported 85 outbreaks at chicken farms across the country. In March there were just 12. Evidently the virus has a harder time thriving in warm weather, so as temperatures rise, the virus weakens. Still, it will take many months for farmers to rebuild their flocks. More Food News: McDonald's, Starbucks targeted by rival fast-food chain's takeoverPopular retailer unveils affordable line with unexpected brandOreo celebrates 113th birthday bringing back fan favorite In the meantime, complaints of price-gouging have emerged, especially in New York, where a dozen eggs costs more than $10 in some locations. The prices even caught the attention of the New York Attorney General's Office, which issued a warning to poultry businesses about price gouging. The AG declared eggs an essential grocery staple and said New Yorkers should not be forced to pay such high prices to feed their families. "The bird flu is affecting poultry farms and causing a national shortage, but this should not be an excuse for businesses to dramatically raise prices," said the AG's statement. Egg prices should come down soon, since farms are reporting fewer avian flu outbreaks. It may, however, be too little, too late for Easter egg hunts. And customers should not expect to see promotions on eggs anytime soon. Related: Costco quietly makes huge change that will save you money Wholesale prices didn't start to come down until mid-March, which means grocery stores are still selling inventory they purchased when prices were at their highest, says University of Arkansas Agricultural Economist Jada Thompson. Thompson also believes that until there is a vaccine, the bird flu virus is just going to wax and wane seasonally, affecting the marketplace off and on. At Easter egg hunts this weekend, odds are that children everywhere will be thrilled to fill their baskets with more chocolate eggs and jelly beans and fewer hard-boiled eggs. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Sky News
10-04-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Egg prices reach record high in US - why are they so expensive?
Why you can trust Sky News Egg in the US have reached a record-high in the US. The average price for a dozen eggs reached $6.23 (£4.82) in March, despite a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having outbreaks of bird flu. The country has been experiencing record-high prices since the beginning of the year, hitting $5.90 in February, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than double the long-term average of $2 (£1.54). Although the wholesale price of eggs had started to decline towards the end of March, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reported on 10 April that prices had, on average, increased once again. The CPI is a body that measures the monthly change in prices paid by US consumers. Jada Thompson, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas, said the reason why consumers are not seeing the price of eggs on shelves declining is because wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, so there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline. She added that shops also may not have immediately implemented the lower prices. It comes after President Donald Trump declared last month that egg prices were "down 35%", going on to praise agricultural secretary Brooke Rollins for doing a "good job" at getting the price down. The cost of eggs is still up 75% in the last 12 months compared to six other staple grocery items - chicken, orange juice, beef mince, bacon and bread - according to Sky News' US partner network, NBC News. Due to the fluctuating price of eggs, egg smuggling has increased, other countries have been asked to increase exports, and the US justice department has launched an investigation into the high prices. Here is everything you need to know about how America has been scrambling for eggs, and why. Avian flu One of the main reasons behind the price rise is the outbreak of avian flu, also known as bird flu, which the US has been grappling with since 2022. This year alone, one person has died and farmers have been forced to slaughter more than 30 million egg-laying birds - partly down to a federal government policy that requires farmers to kill their entire flocks any time a bird gets sick. More than 166 million birds have been killed since the outbreak began three years ago. Avian flu is an infectious influenza that spreads among birds. There are lots of different strains, with H5N1 being the main one that has impacted the US. The H7N9 strain was also detected on a chicken farm in Mississippi on 13 March, according to the Paris-based World Animal Health Organisation. The World Health Organisation said 616 people infected with H7N9 worldwide, more than a third of the total of 1,568, have died since it was first detected in 2013. The main symptoms of bird flu include a high temperature, aching muscles, headache and a cough. As of 7 March, there had been no major outbreak of bird flu in the US for two weeks, the department of agriculture said. Despite this, chickens must be about six months old before they start laying eggs, which could explain why some farms are yet to return to normal egg production levels, agricultural economist Ms Thompson said. Increased demand, increased price As the threat of bird flu rose, so did demand for eggs, which in turn caused the prices to rise. At the beginning of the year, eggs reached a then record $4.95 (£3.86) per dozen, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In some parts of the country, prices went even higher, with Sky News' US partner NBC reporting a peak of $8.64. Others had to pay $10 (£7.74), while the Associated Press said in California the price per dozen topped $12 (£9.29) in some shops. To deal with the rising costs, some restaurants, including the Denny's and Waffle House chains, added surcharges to eggs on their menus. The overall cost of a food shop accelerated, according to NBC, after a previous dramatic decrease in prices from levels seen in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and post-lockdown period. After surging for much of the year, egg prices finally began to decline in the US towards the middle of March - NBC reported a drop to $4.90 (£3) on 13 March. The decrease was put down to consumers buying fewer eggs, but prices still remain significantly higher than the average and pre-COVID prices. Could Easter cause another rise? Emily Metz, president and chief executive of the American Egg Board, warned last month that an increased demand for eggs over Easter could drive a temporary increase in prices once again. If prices are high, it will be the third year in a row that US consumers have faced inflated prices ahead of Easter, which this year lands on 20 April, and Passover, which starts on the evening of 12 April. Ms Metz added that egg farmers will also watch the spring migration of wild birds closely, explaining that they are a leading cause of the spread of avian flu and "pose a great and ongoing threat to egg-laying flocks". During his 'Liberation Day' speech in the White House at the beginning of April, Mr Trump confirmed that the annual White House tradition of rolling around 30,000 Easter eggs across the South Lawn is expected to proceed, and will use real eggs, despite pleas for plastic ones to be used instead. "They were saying that for Easter 'Please don't use eggs. Could you use plastic eggs?' I say, we don't want to do that," Mr Trump said. He did not clarify who was telling him not to use real eggs. A plea for imports In a bid to help an increased demand, the US department of agriculture asked Denmark and other European nations if they could export eggs. In a letter to the Danish egg association in late February, officials asked: "Do you have an estimate of the number of eggs that could be supplied to the United States?" A spokesman for the association in Denmark said they had requested more details on the conditions of such an agreement, highlighting that egg exports to the US were challenging due to regulations over hygiene and other factors. 0:40 👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈 The plea to European countries came after Turkey said in February it had started exporting around 15,000 tonnes of eggs to the US. Exports from Brazil also increased 57.5% in February, the Brazilian Animal Protein Association said, with 2,527 tonnes of eggs shipped in February, compared with 1,604 in the same period last year. The move was mocked by Chinese state TV, who accused Americans of "begging" for eggs as Mr Trump implemented 104% tariffs on all imports entering the US from China. State broadcaster CCTV also started the hashtag #UShastradewarandaneggshortage on social media platform Weibo, which was later censored. Rise in egg smuggling As the price of eggs increased in the US, prices remained relatively low in neighbouring Mexico, leading to an increase in efforts to smuggle them across the border. So-called egg interceptions are up 36% nationwide, the Wall Street Journal cited US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as saying. San Diego has had the largest spike, with an increase of 158% in comparison to last year. "It's the price difference. The price is like a third of what it is in the US," Roger Maier, a CBP spokesman, told the Journal, adding agents in El Paso have encountered 90 would-be egg importers since January. The CBP warned travellers to declare all agricultural products to officers when entering the country, with the failure to do so leading to fines of up to $10,000 (£7,700). Back in February, the theft of 100,000 eggs from a truck in Pennsylvania left police baffled. The eggs - worth around $40,000 (£30,000) - were snatched from the back of a Pete & Gerry's Organics LLC distribution truck in Antrim Township, according to Pennsylvania State Police. The force said at the time the theft could be connected to rising prices, describing the crime as "definitely unique". Biden to blame, says Trump In a speech to Congress at the beginning of March, Mr Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for the surge in egg prices. "Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control - the egg prices out of control. We're working hard to get it back down," Mr Trump claimed. Elon Musk used his social media platform X to lay further blame on Mr Biden, writing: "There was an insane slaughter of 150 million egg-laying chickens ordered by the Biden administration." In actuality, millions of egg-laying chickens have already been killed since Mr Trump took office. Ms Rollins later unveiled a $1bn (£771m) plan to combat bird flu, which includes investment to help farmers bolster biosecurity measures and research into developing vaccines for affected birds. The department of justice is also reported to have launched an investigation into whether egg producers have conspired to raise prices. The nation's largest producer of eggs, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine, confirmed it is cooperating with the investigation. The department's probe is said to be in its early stages and is looking into whether producers have held back supply to increase costs, the Wall Street Journal first reported on 7 March - a claim producers have denied.
Vox
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Vox
One state's flawed, desperate new plan to fix its egg shortage
H5N1, a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza known as bird flu, continues to wreak havoc on the nation's egg farms. In just the last month, more than 21.2 million egg-laying hens — about 7 percent of the national flock — have fallen prey to the virus or been brutally killed by egg producers in an effort to slow its spread. It's led to egg shortages and a spike in egg prices, which reached $5 per dozen on average in January, up from under $2 in 2021, before the current bird flu outbreak began. Last week, in an effort to boost egg supply, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into law a bill that allows government officials to temporarily suspend the state's cage-free egg standards, which requires eggs sold in the state to come from hens raised in cage-free barns rather than in the tiny, cramped cages that are predominant in the egg industry. It also allows for the temporary retail sale of Grade B eggs, which are safe to eat but may come with minor imperfections. Have questions or comments on this newsletter? Email us at futureperfect@ Last month, state lawmakers in Michigan and Colorado introduced bills to do just that in their states. Colorado's bill is dead, while Michigan's bill is still in committee. These bills are part of a much larger, longer-term trend attempting to dismantle what little progress has been made on farm animal welfare in the US. For years, livestock industry-friendly members of Congress have pushed for the EATS Act, which would ban states from setting their own standards for livestock products imported from other states, thereby nullifying some of the most important farm animal welfare laws in the country. It's unlikely that efforts to repeal and suspend cage-free egg laws will lower egg prices, because there's already little slack in the national egg supply. The whole country is facing egg shortages, so there's not exactly a surplus of eggs lying around to fill the gap in Nevada, Michigan, and other cage-free states. University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson recently told the Associated Press that Nevada's suspension could 'very slightly' ease egg prices in the state, but could also raise prices in other states by diverting some of the national egg supply to Nevada. Colorado's agriculture commissioner recently said the state's cage-free law is not a significant factor in the shortages or price spikes. The head of the trade group Colorado Egg Producers told local media that the repeal bill 'would actually harm our farmers here in the State of Colorado, and it would jeopardize the investments they've already made' in cage-free egg farming. It's an issue that both egg farmers and animal welfare advocates agree on: 'Repealing state bans on cages won't stop the spread of bird flu,' said Hannah Truxell, senior policy counsel of the animal protection group the Humane League, in a statement to Vox. 'It would, however, reverse years of critical food industry progress.' That progress is the rapid transition the egg industry has undertaken since the early 2000s, when virtually all egg-laying hens were confined in tiny cages that restricted them from even flapping their wings, let alone moving around. Today, 40 percent of the egg industry's 304 million hens are cage-free, due to laws in 11 US states and commitments from major food corporations, including McDonald's and Nestlé, to use only cage-free eggs. The shift has reduced suffering for around 100 million hens annually. To be sure, cage-free doesn't mean the animals have good lives — they're still raised in massive, overcrowded, unsanitary barns, and investigations into cage-free farms have revealed horrid conditions. But they're certainly better than conventional cage farms. Repealing the few laws that ban cages will do nothing to address the core food system vulnerability driving egg shortages — dependence on factory farms. Because these egg farms are so enormous, each housing hundreds of thousands or even millions of animals, a virus infecting just a couple operations can send a shock to the food supply overnight. Tearing up cage-free laws to compensate for that vulnerability will only further punish animals in the relentless pursuit of cheap food — a pursuit that is to blame for much of this mess, as poultry factory farms have supercharged the bird flu virus. As experts increasingly worry that bird flu could boil over to create the next global pandemic, now ought to be a time for sober reflection on the risks factory farming poses, rather than a time to double down on it. Over the last century, the US pioneered the development of factory farming, which has since spread around the globe. It has made meat, milk, and eggs more abundant and affordable, but it has also come with a number of environmental, animal welfare, and public health problems, including accelerating the spread and virulence of H5N1. The vast majority of America's more than 9 billion turkeys, chickens, and egg-laying hens are raised on factory farms, where the genetically similar animals are overcrowded and live among their own waste, all of which can compromise their immune systems. Factory farms present a 'huge opportunity' for a virus or microbe to effectively spread, Claas Kirchhelle, a medical historian at the University College Dublin, told me. Influenzas have long circulated among migratory water birds, but these have historically been 'low-pathogenic' strains, inflicting little to no damage to the wild birds who contract and spread it. But the virus can mutate from a low-pathogenic strain to a high-pathogenic one — which causes fatal infections in poultry birds and more effectively spreads to humans. These high-pathogenicity conversion events have occurred 42 times between 1959 and today — and almost all were first detected on poultry factory farms. Experts believe that H5N1, first detected in China in 1996, converted from low to high-pathogenicity after entering a commercial poultry farm. By the early 2000s, the virus had spread across the globe. The current US outbreak, now going on three years, has mutated to cause severe illness and death in hundreds of bird species, mammals such as seals and sea lions, and, in the US, dairy cows. More than 70 pet cats, many of them living on dairy farms, have fallen ill from bird flu, and some died. In December, a cheetah and a mountain lion at the Arizona zoo died from the bird flu. Nearly 70 Americans have contracted the virus since 2022. Most of them have been dairy or poultry farmworkers, and most cases have been mild. But in January, a Louisiana resident died after exposure to backyard chickens and wild birds. And this winter, a 13-year-old Canadian girl caught a severe bird flu infection and was hospitalized for weeks; it's unknown how she got it. Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that three dairy veterinarians tested positive for H5N1 despite showing no symptoms, suggesting the virus could be more prevalent in humans than we think. Days later, a Wyoming resident with a flock of backyard chickens was hospitalized after testing positive for avian influenza. Through it all, the US poultry and dairy industries have had little incentive to change their disease-promoting business models. Policy incentives give them no reason to: When bird flu strikes a US poultry farm, the US Department of Agriculture covers the cost of the mass killing of the birds — which is often done by shutting off ventilation and using heaters so that the birds slowly, painfully die of heatstroke — along with the costs of carcass disposal and the market value of the birds. Since 2022, the USDA had doled out more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to egg producers affected by the virus. Dairy producers with bird flu outbreaks are also paid for their losses. These bailouts — along with the current attempts to nullify cage-free laws — send a message to the industry that policymakers won't question the foundational risks of the factory farm system, and will instead continually accommodate for those risks. Temporarily suspending state cage-free egg laws may bring very slight, short-term relief on egg prices, but without pairing it with longer-term solutions, we are bound to end up here again, or worse. Influenza experts are increasingly concerned that the evolution and spread of the virus over the last few years — aided by dairy farmers unwilling to take the bird flu threat seriously and a deferential USDA — could help to trigger the next global pandemic. In a recent story for Nautilus , journalist Brandon Keim wrote that scientists he spoke with 'used phrases like 'red lights flashing,' 'totally novel ballgame,' 'no hope of containing,' and 'under attack.'' There are a number of short- and long-term steps policymakers could take to lower the threat of bird flu. In December, the USDA said that some producers may be 'inclined to disregard biosecurity because they believe that [the USDA] will continue to cover the costs associated with damages related to an HPAI outbreak.' The agency has proposed a rule to require that producers pass a biosecurity audit before they're eligible for indemnity payments. But Congress could go further by requiring producers to cover their own costs for mass killing and disposing of animals in the wake of disease outbreaks — a policy that Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) proposed over two years ago in the Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act. 'Our federal agricultural policy is designed in such a way that the factory farm model gets all the benefits and none of the blame,' Jake Davis, a Missouri-based agricultural policy expert and small farmer who advised on the bill, told Vox in 2022. 'We have not asked the industry to embed the risk to our food system that they create.' As egg prices soar, there's been increased appetite for such alternatives in the US. Requiring the vaccination of egg-laying hens would help, but parts of the poultry industry are concerned it would disrupt trade, while the USDA — at the tail end of the Biden administration — expressed concerns about the effectiveness of available vaccines. A Trump economic adviser recently said the new administration is looking into 'medication' — presumably meaning vaccines — as part of its plan to stamp out the virus, and last week gave conditional approval to an H5N1 vaccine. But it's unclear when, or if, it'll be deployed. The Trump administration has also fired 25 percent of the staff from a network of nearly 60 laboratories that monitor the bird flu and other viruses, some of whom it's now trying to hire back. Longer term, policymakers could invest in diversifying America's protein sources — currently, two-thirds of our protein intake comes from animal products. Fewer animals and fewer factory farms would give avian influenza and other viruses fewer opportunities to mutate and spread, while also benefitting the environment and the animals themselves. Congress, the USDA and FDA, and state governments helped to build — and still help to expand — the factory farm system. But policymakers could choose to shift the food system in a more plant-based direction. Forward-thinking countries like Denmark and the Netherlands are already doing so through programs to pay farmers to raise fewer animals or grow more plant-based crops and to support startups producing plant-based meat, milk, and egg alternatives. As egg prices soar, there's been increased appetite for such alternatives in the US. Josh Tetrick, the CEO of Eat Just — the maker of a plant-based liquid egg product called Just Egg, which is made with mung bean protein — told me over email that the product has been growing five times faster over the past month than in the past year. And one of the largest US retailers, Tetrick said, increased its orders of the product by 30 percent over the last three weeks. Just Egg is pricey, costing about triple that of liquid eggs from a caged hen, but it's not because mung beans are expensive; it's because it's made by a startup that hasn't achieved economies of scale, nor benefited from taxpayer bailouts or decades of government support like the conventional egg industry. If commercial egg farming does contribute to sparking the global pandemic, investing in plant-based alternatives will look smart in hindsight. As Eat Just put it in a full-page New York Times advertisement in 2023: 'Plants don't get the flu.' You've read 1 article in the last month Here at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you — threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country. Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change. We rely on readers like you — join us. Swati Sharma Vox Editor-in-Chief See More: Economy Future Perfect Money The Future of Meat
Chicago Tribune
14-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Can suspending a cage-free egg law solve the soaring price problem? Nevada takes a crack at it
LAS VEGAS — Back when egg prices remained securely under $2 a dozen in 2021, Nevada joined several other states concerned about animal welfare in requiring cage-free eggs. Now four years later, a dozen eggs costs an average of nearly $5 in the U.S. because of the lingering bird flu, so Nevada passed a law the governor signed Thursday that will allow the state to suspend that law temporarily in hopes of getting residents some relief at the checkout counter. But it is not quite that simple, which is why the other six states with the same laws are so far reticent to follow suit. By relaxing the rule, Nevada might get access to additional eggs, but the supply of all eggs remains tight because nearly 159 million birds have been slaughtered since the bird flu outbreak began in 2022 to help limit virus spread. The virus prompts the slaughter of entire flocks anytime it is found. It is not clear dropping cage-free laws will have a significant effect on egg prices that have peaked at an average of $4.95 per dozen because the farmers who collectively invested several billion dollars in making the switch can't easily go back to raising chickens packed together in massive barns that they already spent the money to convert. Even if all the cage-free laws went away, big corporations like McDonald's and Sodexo remain committed to buying only those kind of eggs, ensuring strong demand for cage-free eggs. University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson said opening up Nevada to all kinds of eggs 'could ease egg prices in Nevada very slightly,' but that it might make prices worse elsewhere because supplies are so tight. Nevada tries to counter high egg prices But Nevada is going to give it a try even if California, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Michigan don't seem to be considering it. Arizona, Rhode Island and Utah also have cage-free laws on the books, but theirs won't take effect for at least a couple more years. Democratic Assemblymember Howard Watts III, who raises chickens in his Nevada backyard, advocated for the 2021 bill to promote the 'standard of humane treatment' of the animals. But the ongoing bird flu outbreak in the U.S. has caused egg prices to to hit a record high, and cage-free eggs are generally even more expensive. 'One of the things that was not foreseen at that time was this major animal disease outbreak,' Watts testified Tuesday. 'As a result, there was no regulatory flexibility to suspend those requirements in the event of a major supply chain disruption.' Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo approved the legislation Thursday. Nevada Department of Agriculture Director J.J. Goicoechea is expected to authorize the 120-day suspension of the cage-free egg requirements within a day, according to Goicoechea's spokesperson Ciara Ressel. 'We anticipate 30 days before we can see an impact at the grocery stores,' Ressel said. This month's jump in egg prices was the biggest since the nation's last bird flu outbreak in 2015. The previous high was set two years ago when eggs were selling for $4.82 per dozen on average. The average prices mask just how bad it is in some places. Some Californians these days are shelling out $12.99 for a dozen, or more than a buck an egg. Some New York shops even started selling bundles of three eggs to help people who can't afford a full dozen. Nevada resident Nancy Wong said she has been 'outraged' by egg prices in the state. 'We have gone to the store and eggs have been either rationed or completely out,' she said. A minority of eggs are produced on cage-free farms The concern with the cage-free requirements is that only about 121 million of the 304 million chickens laying eggs nationwide are raised on cage-free farms, so the supply is limited. Many of the eggs those hens produce are promised to restaurant chains like McDonald's and Panera, food service giants like Sodexo and Aramark and grocers under long-term contracts that help keep prices down. But even when they do have to pay a premium, grocers sometimes lose money on eggs by selling them cheaply to try to get shoppers in the door. The number of cage-free chickens has steadily increased in recent years because of the laws and the pressure from the companies buying eggs, increasing exponentially from just 38 million at the start of 2017. But the United Egg Producers trade group has estimated it would take at least 226 million cage-free hens to meet all the demand for those eggs, and more customers are clamoring for them, so the supply is tight. The total flock of chickens nationwide used to number above 330 million before the bird flu outbreak began. Even as more egg farmers were converting to cage-free setups over the past decade, prices stayed between $1.40 and $2 per dozen most of the time with only the normal seasonal price spikes around Easter and Thanksgiving until this current bird flu outbreak began in early 2022. If bird flu outbreaks happen to hit cage-free farms hard, there are fewer eggs out there that can replace the lost ones. For example, out of the nearly 47 million birds slaughtered just since the start of December, more than 3 million of them were on five cage-free farms in California. Anytime birds must be killed, it takes months for a farm to resume producing eggs because of the time required to dispose of the carcasses, sanitize the barns and raise new chickens until they are about 5 months old and capable of laying eggs. Other states resist overturning cage-free laws California won't consider dropping its cage-free law in part because the rule came from a measure voters passed in 2018, so voters would have to approve any major changes. But there doesn't seem to be much support for changes in other states either. Michigan state Rep. Jerry Neyer, a dairy farmer and chair of the state House Agriculture Committee, said the idea that new cage-free laws are driving up egg prices is a 'misconception.' The Republican added that most farms already adapted to comply with the law, so dropping the mandate wouldn't cut costs. A bill to repeal Colorado's cage-free requirements, which just took effect on Jan. 1, was killed in its first committee vote last month. The sponsor, Republican state Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, argued that while the avian flu was a major factor in prices, the cage-free rules played a significant role. But the majority of lawmakers on the panel appeared skeptical. Jonathan Kuester, who runs the small Historic Wagner Farm with about 200 Red Star hens in Illinois just outside Chicago, said he doesn't think cage-free practices are the cause of the egg shortages. He acknowledged his farm is more vulnerable to a bird flu infection than a traditional farm where chickens are confined inside a barn that can be better protected. Kuester's birds roam free, where they might interact with ducks and geese that are the main carriers of the disease. 'The egg shortage that people are seeing is a result of some fairly large flocks being euthanized, and so fewer chickens are currently laying than were three or four months ago,' Kuester said. 'There's been a little bit of a panic, too. People are suddenly buying eggs as quickly as they can, and so you see that shortage.'
The Hill
14-02-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Can suspending a cage-free egg law solve the soaring price problem? Nevada takes a crack at it
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Back when egg prices remained securely under $2 a dozen in 2021, Nevada joined several other states concerned about animal welfare in requiring cage-free eggs. Now four years later, a dozen eggs costs an average of nearly $5 in the U.S. because of the lingering bird flu, so Nevada passed a law the governor signed Thursday that will allow the state to suspend that law temporarily in hopes of getting residents some relief at the checkout counter. But it is not quite that simple, which is why the other six states with the same laws are so far reticent to follow suit. By relaxing the rule, Nevada might get access to additional eggs, but the supply of all eggs remains tight because nearly 159 million birds have been slaughtered since the bird flu outbreak began in 2022 to help limit virus spread. The virus prompts the slaughter of entire flocks anytime it is found. It is not clear dropping cage-free laws will have a significant effect on egg prices that have peaked at an average of $4.95 per dozen because the farmers who collectively invested several billion dollars in making the switch can't easily go back to raising chickens packed together in massive barns that they already spent the money to convert. Even if all the cage-free laws went away, big corporations like McDonald's and Sodexo remain committed to buying only those kind of eggs, ensuring strong demand for cage-free eggs. University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson said opening up Nevada to all kinds of eggs 'could ease egg prices in Nevada very slightly,' but that it might make prices worse elsewhere because supplies are so tight. Nevada tries to counter high egg prices But Nevada is going to give it a try even if California, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Michigan don't seem to be considering it. Arizona, Rhode Island and Utah also have cage-free laws on the books, but theirs won't take effect for at least a couple more years. Democratic Assemblymember Howard Watts III, who raises chickens in his Nevada backyard, advocated for the 2021 bill to promote the 'standard of humane treatment' of the animals. But the ongoing bird flu outbreak in the U.S. has caused egg prices to to hit a record high, and cage-free eggs are generally even more expensive. 'One of the things that was not foreseen at that time was this major animal disease outbreak,' Watts testified Tuesday. 'As a result, there was no regulatory flexibility to suspend those requirements in the event of a major supply chain disruption.' Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo approved the legislation Thursday. Nevada Department of Agriculture Director J.J. Goicoechea is expected to authorize the 120-day suspension of the cage-free egg requirements within a day, according to Goicoechea's spokesperson Ciara Ressel. 'We anticipate 30 days before we can see an impact at the grocery stores,' Ressel said. This month's jump in egg prices was the biggest since the nation's last bird flu outbreak in 2015. The previous high was set two years ago when eggs were selling for $4.82 per dozen on average. The average prices mask just how bad it is in some places. Some Californians these days are shelling out $12.99 for a dozen, or more than a buck an egg. Some New York shops even started selling bundles of three eggs to help people who can't afford a full dozen. Nevada resident Nancy Wong said she has been 'outraged' by egg prices in the state. 'We have gone to the store and eggs have been either rationed or completely out,' she said. A minority of eggs are produced on cage-free farms The concern with the cage-free requirements is that only about 121 million of the 304 million chickens laying eggs nationwide are raised on cage-free farms, so the supply is limited. Many of the eggs those hens produce are promised to restaurant chains like McDonald's and Panera, food service giants like Sodexo and Aramark and grocers under long-term contracts that help keep prices down. But even when they do have to pay a premium, grocers sometimes lose money on eggs by selling them cheaply to try to get shoppers in the door. The number of cage-free chickens has steadily increased in recent years because of the laws and the pressure from the companies buying eggs, increasing exponentially from just 38 million at the start of 2017. But the United Egg Producers trade group has estimated it would take at least 226 million cage-free hens to meet all the demand for those eggs, and more customers are clamoring for them, so the supply is tight. The total flock of chickens nationwide used to number above 330 million before the bird flu outbreak began. Even as more egg farmers were converting to cage-free setups over the past decade, prices stayed between $1.40 and $2 per dozen most of the time with only the normal seasonal price spikes around Easter and Thanksgiving until this current bird flu outbreak began in early 2022. If bird flu outbreaks happen to hit cage-free farms hard, there are fewer eggs out there that can replace the lost ones. For example, out of the nearly 47 million birds slaughtered just since the start of December, more than 3 million of them were on five cage-free farms in California. Anytime birds must be killed, it takes months for a farm to resume producing eggs because of the time required to dispose of the carcasses, sanitize the barns and raise new chickens until they are about 5 months old and capable of laying eggs. Other states resist overturning cage-free laws California won't consider dropping its cage-free law in part because the rule came from a measure voters passed in 2018, so voters would have to approve any major changes. But there doesn't seem to be much support for changes in other states either. Michigan state Rep. Jerry Neyer, a dairy farmer and chair of the state House Agriculture Committee, said the idea that new cage-free laws are driving up egg prices is a 'misconception.' The Republican added that most farms already adapted to comply with the law, so dropping the mandate wouldn't cut costs. A bill to repeal Colorado's cage-free requirements, which just took effect on Jan. 1, was killed in its first committee vote last month. The sponsor, Republican state Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, argued that while the avian flu was a major factor in prices, the cage-free rules played a significant role. But the majority of lawmakers on the panel appeared skeptical. Jonathan Kuester, who runs the small Historic Wagner Farm with about 200 Red Star hens in Illinois just outside Chicago, said he doesn't think cage-free practices are the cause of the egg shortages. He acknowledged his farm is more vulnerable to a bird flu infection than a traditional farm where chickens are confined inside a barn that can be better protected. Kuester's birds roam free, where they might interact with ducks and geese that are the main carriers of the disease. 'The egg shortage that people are seeing is a result of some fairly large flocks being euthanized, and so fewer chickens are currently laying than were three or four months ago,' Kuester said. 'There's been a little bit of a panic, too. People are suddenly buying eggs as quickly as they can, and so you see that shortage.' ___
