Eggs on the market at 66 cents every from a grocery store in Monterey Park, Calif., on Feb. 10.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
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Frederic J. Brown/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
Eggs have change into the grocery staple that Individuals cannot cease speaking about: whether or not its fears of widespread chicken flu getting worse, or the drastic improve in the price of eggs because of so many chickens dying from sickness or being culled due to the outbreak.
This week, the U.S. Division of Agriculture introduced a $1 billion plan to deal with the disaster.
Three issues to know:
1. Egg costs jumped greater than 15% final month, and panicked consumers emptied retailer cabinets as fears of a wider scarcity loomed.
2. In its plan, the USDA stated it could spend as much as half a billion {dollars} boosting bio-safety precautions at egg farms. One other $400 million will go to hurry the substitute of misplaced birds, though it may well take six months to a 12 months to boost a productive laying hen.
3. The plan additionally requires spending $100 million to discover methods to briefly enhance the provision of imported eggs, and probably to vaccinate home chickens. Vaccination efforts can pose a problem, as it may well make the exportation of chickens raised for meat harder.
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Is all of it simply chicken flu?
Whereas the avian flu will be liable for the speedy scarcity in eggs, some are starting to query what different components could possibly be at play.
Advocacy teams like Farm Motion, and a handful of Democratic lawmakers have referred to as for a deeper investigation into whether or not trade focus and practices are behind this worth spike.
