Eggs

[mumblethrax]

It's absolutely ridiculous that egg prices are this high. And even if the FDA ordered the destruction of 100 million chickens because of bird flu, (not saying he did, that wouldn't explain it. We kill probably 50 million chickens daily for chicken meat. And a chickens start laying eggs from 4 to 8 months of age. Depends on the breed. At most, we're talking about a few months disruption of the supply of eggs. Chickens are prolific at reproducing. Something else is going on.

Eggs are a staple food, and therefore are an inelastic good. A small disruption in supply results in significantly higher prices.

I don’t see any reason to believe there’s something else going on. This probably could have been avoided with better supply management, but that’s not what we do here, apparently.

 

[Trebuchet]

I saw a big display of packages of three dozen quail eggs at Costco, but they weren't cheap.

 

[Reformed Offlian]

Edit: Nevermind, a quick Google search has shown me that I have no idea how either egg or chicken farming works.

Me, neither. I Googled "How does egg farming work?" and got back: "lol, you don't know what you're talking about. Go kill yourself."

The internet can be so mean sometimes.

 

[acbytesla]

Eggs are a staple food, and therefore are an inelastic good. A small disruption in supply results in significantly higher prices.

I don’t see any reason to believe there’s something else going on. This probably could have been avoided with better supply management, but that’s not what we do here, apparently.

For a few months yes. But resolving the supply issue is not all that challenging. As I said, chickens reproduce very quickly. The question is why hasn't egg production returned to normal? And if it has, why hasn't egg prices come down?

 

[alfaniner]

My fortnightly delivery of a dozen free-range eggs have just been delivered to my doorstep, from a local farm, very fresh, even get an occasional double yolk. And they are all different colours. The farmer even delivered on Christmas day! As he said the chickens don't stop for Christmas day. £10.96 a month.

I once bought a package of a dozen eggs from a sort of rural grocery store, for a camping trip. I was surprised when the first three I cracked open had double yolks. As I used the rest, they all had double yolks! I had never seen even one of those before, and now I had a full dozen (and 24 yolks.) The package wasn't specially marked or anything. I figured the odds of something like that happening were astronomical, and it was probably just somebody at the packaging area that had "candled" a bunch of doubles and put them in one tray for fun. Still, I wish I'd video recorded it once I saw what was going on.

 

[Orphia Nay]

I once bought a package of a dozen eggs from a sort of rural grocery store, for a camping trip. I was surprised when the first three I cracked open had double yolks. As I used the rest, they all had double yolks! I had never seen even one of those before, and now I had a full dozen (and 24 yolks.) The package wasn't specially marked or anything. I figured the odds of something like that happening were astronomical, and it was probably just somebody at the packaging area that had "candled" a bunch of doubles and put them in one tray for fun. Still, I wish I'd video recorded it once I saw what was going on.

The same thing happened to me a few years ago! A dozen double-yolkers.

I Googled and iirc when they package them, they xray/scan/ulrasound(?) the eggs, so maybe the packagers have fun with them and box them like that for some lucky customer.

 

[Darat]

Egg-farming, of course! Because chickens are far from the only creature that lays eggs.

Trump has declared that he wants more eggs to be planted, it's a disgraceful and criminal of Biden to have stopped the planting of eggs and creating this crisis, but it's not a crisis as Musk has said he will take over the egg planting and start planting them on the moon for a mere $20 billion.

 

[acbytesla]

The same thing happened to me a few years ago! A dozen double-yolkers.

I Googled and iirc when they package them, they xray/scan/ulrasound(?) the eggs, so maybe the packagers have fun with them and box them like that for some lucky

I just googled how it was possible and while very rare, it does happen.

 

[plague311]

Trump has declared that he wants more eggs to be planted, it's a disgraceful and criminal of Biden to have stopped the planting of eggs and creating this crisis, but it's not a crisis as Musk has said he will take over the egg planting and start planting them on the moon for a mere $20 billion.

Maybe he could try shooting eggs into a hurricane along with a nuke and that'll make more eggs with the added bonus of stopping the hurricane too. /science!

 

[Reformed Offlian]

Trump has declared that he wants more eggs to be planted, it's a disgraceful and criminal of Biden to have stopped the planting of eggs and creating this crisis, but it's not a crisis as Musk has said he will take over the egg planting and start planting them on the moon for a mere $20 billion.

You have no idea how much I wanted this actually to be true.

 

[mumblethrax]

The question is why hasn't egg production returned to normal?

Probably because the current outbreak, which started in 2022, is ongoing. Farmers/agribusiness are going to be reluctant to invest in rebuilding flocks that might just have to be culled again (they are partially compensated for culling birds, but not to such an extent that they won't take these risks into account). And I don't know what kind of capacity commercial hatcheries in the US have, but I doubt the 20 million birds that were culled last quarter can be replaced that quickly. That, too, will be subject to market pressures. Given that avian flu outbreaks are becoming more frequent, and require huge investments in prevention measures, some might just be exiting the market altogether.

 

[acbytesla]

Probably because the current outbreak, which started in 2022, is ongoing. Farmers/agribusiness are going to be reluctant to invest in rebuilding flocks that might just have to be culled again (they are partially compensated for culling birds, but not to such an extent that they won't take these risks into account). And I don't know what kind of capacity commercial hatcheries in the US have, but I doubt the 20 million birds that were culled last quarter can be replaced that quickly. That, too, will be subject to market pressures. Given that avian flu outbreaks are becoming more frequent, and require huge investments in prevention measures, some might just be exiting the market altogether.

I'm not convinced that resolving this issue is so difficult that it can't be resolved reasonably fast. I'm convinced that ranchers etc may be making more money raising fewer hens and therefore are not motivated to restore their flock. This is one of the huge deficiencies of capitalism. What is good for society as a whole may not profit the rancher.

 

[mumblethrax]

This is one of the huge deficiencies of capitalism. What is good for society as a whole may not profit the rancher.

True, but then poultry farming has huge unpriced externalities. What's good for society overall isn't obviously "cheaper eggs."

 

[acbytesla]

True, but then egg farming has huge unpriced externalities. What's good for society overall isn't obviously "cheaper eggs."

You think?

I'm convinced that cheaper food, housing and other staples definitely is better for society. But maybe we define "better" differently. Capitalism is eating society. The more the wealth gap grows, the less industries cater to the base layer of society. Money chases money. And if people can't afford eggs, egg farmers will produce fewer eggs at higher prices. Eventually the system is unsustainable.

 

[mumblethrax]

You think?

I know. An obvious example is the major factor driving the currently higher prices--the fact that poultry are an excellent vector for cross-species transmission of disease. The cost of managing this risk is significantly born by taxpayers. And occasionally we pay with our lives.

I'm convinced that cheaper food, housing and other staples definitely is better for society.

Even if I grant this, it doesn't imply that cheaper eggs are good for society. Maybe we should (we definitely should) be encouraging people to seek long-term substitutions.

 

[Norman Alexander]

Trump has declared that he wants more eggs to be planted, it's a disgraceful and criminal of Biden to have stopped the planting of eggs and creating this crisis, but it's not a crisis as Musk has said he will take over the egg planting and start planting them on the moon for a mere $20 billion.

As long as Musk is the first egg planted there, it's probably worth $20 billion in the long run.

 

[Resume]

The problem with the bird flu and chicken stocks is there are multible variables: the initial die-off, then the culling after an outbreak, then the time it takes to rebuild the stocks, and disinfect the facilities. Then everything has to start all over after another outbreak. This has been going on at least since 2014, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. This idiot administration isn't helping by gagging health communications, and halting research grants.

 

[acbytesla]

I know. An obvious example is the major factor driving the currently higher prices--the fact that poultry are an excellent vector for cross-species transmission of disease. The cost of managing this risk is significantly born by taxpayers. And occasionally we pay with our lives.

I don't believe that what it costs taxpayers is so significant that it isn't worthwhile. Eggs are a staple. And as pointed out, they are a very important ingredient in countless dishes. 50,000 Americans die from firearms every year. How many die from eggs?

Even if I grant this, it doesn't imply that cheaper eggs are good for society. Maybe we should (we definitely should) be encouraging people to seek long-term substitutions.

"Even if?" Having a lower cost of living isn't better for society?

I'm unconvinced. But I'll explore this more.

 

[mumblethrax]

I don't believe that what it costs taxpayers is so significant that it isn't worthwhile. Eggs are a staple.

Those of us in industrialized countries have an embarrassment of choices of staple foods. One of them becoming more expensive isn't a huge problem.

And as pointed out, they are a very important ingredient in countless dishes.

We can develop new recipes.

50,000 Americans die from firearms every year. How many die from eggs?

I'm not claiming people die from eggs. I'm claiming people die from diseases transmitted to us via poultry, which are (as of yet) necessary for the production of eggs.

And that death toll, for the 20th century, is well into the hundreds of millions. As epidemics and pandemics become more frequent this century, we should be building moats between ourselves and wild reservoirs. Instead, we've built bridges.

"Even if?" Having a lower cost of living isn't better for society?

Not across the board, no. More expensive gasoline/petrol raises the cost of living in the short term, but also incentivizes behaviors that produce better outcomes (people move closer to cities, drive smaller cars, switch to electric vehicles or public transit, etc.)

 

[dann]

What is good for society as a whole may not profit the rancher.

Having a lower cost of living isn't better for society?

The point of this kind of society is to benefit capitalists. There is no other "society as a whole" - other than the delusion that "society as a whole" somehow includes everybody. It is fairly obvious that it doesn't.
A lower price of living for ordinary people only benefits capitalists if it enables them to lower the price of labour.
Thus capitalists buying up living space and increasing rent benefits society even though it's detrimental to ordinary people who have to pay rent.
If a higher price of eggs benefits ranchers, it's good for society. If it doesn't, it isn't. The current reason why eggs are getting more expensive may benefit ranchers who produce other foodstuffs than eggs. They may benefit from consumers starting to buy other stuff than eggs and thus potentially increasing the price of that other stuff.
As for health, the cholesterol in eggs may not be as unhealthy as we used to think:

Eggs: Are they good or bad for my cholesterol? (Mayo Clinic)
Chicken eggs are an affordable source of protein and other nutrients. They're also naturally high in cholesterol. But the cholesterol in eggs doesn't seem to raise cholesterol levels the way some other foods, such as those high in trans fats and saturated fats, do

More in the (short) article.