Rebekah Doctolero is a senior biology major who lives off campus with a group of housemates. Recently, she was making a Trader Joe’s run hoping to buy some eggs, except there were no eggs to be found. She asked an employee why that was and the employee explained that it was due to the egg shortage.
The number of eggs produced in the U.S. has severely declined since the outbreak of avian influenza, also known as bird flu, started in 2022. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this outbreak has infected more than 160 million birds.
The problem with this disease is that it is highly contagious. Once the virus is found on a poultry farm, every animal must be euthanized to prevent the spread of the disease. According to an Associated Press article, more than 145 million chickens, turkeys and other poultry have been slaughtered since the outbreak began.
Jada Thompson, a poultry economist at the University of Arkansas explains that once the disease hits a farm in one area, it is going to impact multiple farms, which then affects the supply of eggs. An Illinois Public Radio article explains how this viral disease has led to a 37% increase in egg prices from the previous year nationwide.
“To be completely honest, I didn’t know that the prices had raised,” said Doctolero.
The price of eggs has risen 28.1% in the past year because of the egg shortage, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the Associated Press article, the average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. This is the highest it has been since it reached $4.82 two years ago.
Locally, this number is higher. One dozen eggs will cost $6.99 at the Newport Highway Safeway and $4.99 at Trader Joe’s.
Grace Robinson, a senior biochemistry major who also lives off campus, says she buys eggs once every couple of weeks. Fortunately, Robinson has an on-campus job and has money saved up, so she can budget to buy eggs if she wants.
“I don’t love having to budget extra money for food,” said Robinson. “But also, if it means I am consuming food from better sources, then okay.”
According to the AP article, to help prevent the spread of this disease, many poultry farms have installed safety measures to protect their livestock, such as truck washes to disinfect vehicles and requiring workers to shower and change their clothes before stepping into a barn.
These changes will hopefully slow the spread of this bird flu outbreak to prevent the deaths of more animals and lower the cost of eggs.
“To be an ethical consumer, it’s worth it to pay an extra two dollars,” said Robinson.
