California consumers found an obstacle in the beginning of the year 2023 in the shortage of eggs. The acquisition of food becomes more and more complicated, while the cost -in the few places that have them- are increasing.
But an outbreak of bird flu appears to be the main cause behind California’s egg shortage, a situation that has killed millions of chickens across the country in recent months.
Get your accounts. High demand and low supply translate into high prices. According to data from the United States Department of Agriculture, the average price of a dozen eggs in the state of California is $7.37, more than $4.83 at the beginning of December to buy the same amount.
- The current price is more than triple the $2.35 that supermarkets charged at the start of 2022.
- According to the Department of Agriculture, it is estimated that more than 57 million chickens and turkeys have died since February last year from bird flu.
- In December alone, it is estimated that more than four million laying hens died.
- In total, there are around 40 million chickens that have died in the country. Of the number, five million were layers.
It is not anything. The impact of the egg shortage in California has to do with a law that went into effect in January 2022, which requires laying hens to be raised without a cage. To date, there are approximately 14 million of these species throughout the state.
- Being free, the chances of having contact with other wild birds -without knowing if they are infected or not- are greater.
- Chickens raised in cages barely represent 30% of the total number of layers in the entire United States.
The voices from side to side. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Anna Sánchez, who claimed to have seen a dozen for more than $10, explained to the Los Angeles Times. “There are simply no cheaper ones.”
- “I was very surprised, because it is a staple food,” Princess Hodges added to the outlet.
- “They had to kill 50 million chickens, and many of them were cage-free,” said Rami Rosenthal, manager of Toby Egg Farms, a Los Angeles egg wholesaler. “The other reason is that California voted to have cage-free eggs.”
Main news source: Los Angeles Times