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Another general election season, a new problem.
The largest producer of eggs in the United States has just announced that an outbreak of bird flu will result in the slaughter of nearly two million hens and pullets (young hens).
Cal-Maine Foods announced the outbreak at its Texas panhandle plant.
Bad News for Consumers
When Donald Trump was president, the cost of eggs was under $1.50 per dozen.
During the Biden presidency, that cost more than doubled, seeing a high of just under $5 per dozen.
Even today, the eggs are selling for about $2.50 per dozen, and that cost is likely to go up significantly with this outbreak of bird flu in Texas.
The announcement by Cal-Maine came only hours after it was announced that a person had been infected with the bird flu after coming in contact with dairy cattle that had been infected with the virus.
Not only can we expect the cost of eggs to go up, but we are also likely to see a pinch in the supply because Cal-Maine had to stop production while the company followed Dept. of Agriculture protocols.
The slaughter of the two million hens will account for almost four percent of the total supply of hens for Cal-Maine.
The only good news out of this mess is that our milk supply should not be impacted by the dairy cows that were infected by the virus.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller stated, “In the rare event that some affected milk enters the food chain, the pasteurization process will kill the virus.”
Erin Supak, director of communications for the Animal Health Commission, added, “We have never seen avian influenza in dairy cows before.
“So we’re encouraging best management practices and enhanced biosecurity measures to be put in place and ensure the spread is not going to go farther than it already has.”
It is oddly funny how these things continue to take place right around election time… just saying.
