By John McCracken, Investigate Midwest
Egg prices remain volatile in the wake of the ongoing bird flu outbreaks, which have decimated commercial poultry and egg production across the U.S.
At the end of 2024, the epidemic pushed egg prices to the second-highest level – $4.15 per dozen – in the past decade, according to the Consumer Price Index. That’s second only to the first onset of the recent bird flu outbreaks.
Retail grocery stores were still dealing with inflationary pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic when initial bird flu outbreaks began across the country in early 2022.
By the end of that year, egg prices had doubled from the year before, from less than $2 a dozen to more than $4 a dozen, according to the Consumer Price Index.
Egg prices began to stabilize throughout 2023, but as new waves of bird flu hit, the price of eggs shot back up.
Bird flu has ravaged commercial poultry and egg production, with more than 134 million birds killed since early 2022.
The recent rise in grocery staples can also be attributed to post-COVID-19 pandemic inflationary pressures, a shortage of beef cattle caused by droughts, and bird flu outbreaks.
Beef prices climbed 22% from early 2022 to the end of last year, a reflection of the long-term ripple effects of declining herd sizes in the face of feed and water shortages.
Grocery prices have taken center stage as activists, politicians and government agencies have denounced meat and food industry consolidation alongside alleged price gouging.
This article first appeared on Investigate Midwest and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. Visit us online at www.investigatemidwest.org
Main Image Photo credit: unsplash
All other images courtesy of Investigate Midwest. Used with permission.
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