The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the reasons for the surge in egg prices, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the issue. Antitrust enforcers will focus on whether producers have conspired to hike egg prices.The price of eggs has risen by 50% over the past year. The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs hovers at $4.95, up 240% from $1.46 five years ago. We grudgingly accept those kinds of price hikes with real estate, especially if we are homeowners. But eggs? Not so much. They’re a symbol of our economic anxiety and — critically — a cheap source of protein and many other nutrients. The rise in egg prices and shortage in egg supplies unnerves consumers and makes us question the wider economic landscape. About that anxiety:
In MarketWatch’s “call of the day” on Monday, a Wall Street bull, Yardeni Research president Ed Yardeni, appears to be getting nervous. “We’re wondering whether Trump Tariff Turmoil 2.0 might trigger a rare kind of flash crash unaccompanied by a recession,” he said. In an interview broadcast in Fox News on Sunday, President Trump refused to rule out a recession related to his tariffs. “I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America,” the president said. Eggs are an “inelastic” commodity: as prices rise customers don’t necessarily stop buying them; there are precious few alternatives. Economist Jason Lusk says a 1% rise in price only reduces demand by 0.15% and, if the supply falls by 1%, prices will rise by about 6.67%. Such is the fascination with egg prices that some people are betting on the price of eggs. Others are investing in eggs or, more specifically, egg producers like Cal-Maine Foods, in the hopes that prices continue to increase. A staple in many other foods, from waffles, omelettes and cakes to ramen and pancakes, if the price of eggs continues to rise, so does the cost of all those other recipes. Psychologically, people seem to get more upset about eggs than, say, a Starbucks coffee.
They are fragile, have a short shelf life and difficult to import. It takes up to five months to raise egg-laying chickens. Paul Harrison, an Australian economist, has likened egg shortages to the panic over toilet paper during COVID. One obvious difference: You can stockpile toilet paper. A shortage of eggs “serves as what psychologists call a ‘heuristic,’ a mental shortcut that shapes our broader perceptions,” he wrote recently. “When something as mundane as eggs becomes difficult to obtain, it triggers a feeling that something is fundamentally not working.” Eggs are now so valuable that they have been targeted by organized criminal gangs. Last month, 100,000 eggs worth an estimated $40,000 were stolen from a trailer in Pennsylvania. At current prices, that’s roughly the equivalent to an American football’s weight in gold.
The Trump administration last month announced a $1 billion plan to combat avian influenza, to protect the U.S. poultry industry and — in theory, at least — egg prices. But questions remain about the role of producers and retailers in the shortage of eggs, and spike in prices. They are an integral part of the weekly grocery basket and a potent symbol, illustrating the threat of inflation to American household budgets. More than actual rotten eggs, overpriced eggs are a prime ingredient for politicians to throw shade at each other. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat from Michigan, had this to say to the AP about egg prices: “When that is your day-to-day worry, the philosophical conversations about a constitutional crisis or the democracy is simply not a luxury you can afford.”
There seems to be little hope, so far, that prices will go down anytime soon. The United Egg Producers, a trade group, blamed the outbreak on bird flu and said farmers are doing their best to fight against this deadly disease. Millions of birds have been America is obsessed with egg prices, but do we really know why they’re so important? Here’s a taster: one 52-gram egg contains 74 kilocalories, 5.2 grams in fat (only 1.7 grams of which are saturated), 70 milligrams of sodium and — drum roll, please — 6.3 grams of protein. The average woman needs about 45 grams of protein a day, while the average man needs about 55 grams of protein. What’s more, the average egg is rich in calcium, potassium and phosphorus, and trace amounts of copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, selenium and zinc. Studies suggest eggs are connected to male sexual function and fertility, and a recent study in the British medical Journal found they could be related to a lower risk of depressive symptoms.
Eggs are also rich in a nutrient called choline, which has a role in early brain development. Health-line says eggs “are among of the most nutritious foods on earth,” pointing out that one large egg contains 9% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin B12, vitamin B2 (15% of the RDA), vitamin A (6% of the RDA), vitamin B5 and selenium: (22%). It’s little wonder, given their nutritional value, that people have been buying in bulk: In recent months, Costco and Whole Foods imposed restrictions on the number of eggs customers can buy at one time. Kroger reported that egg prices rose 70 per cent during the fourth quarter.
