Egg Prices Going Up, Just Before Easter
SAN RAFAEL, CA - AUGUST 26: Fresh brown eggs sit in a bowl August 26, 2010 in San Rafael, California. Egg prices have skyrocketed nearly 40 percent since two Iowa egg farms recalled more than a half billion eggs that are believed to have sickened 1,300 people with Salmonella poisoning in several states. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Your Easter egg hunt just got a lot more expensive – thanks to inflation and the avian flu outbreak.
According to the USDA, the price of a dozen large eggs is up 44% over this time last year.
On top of inflation raising prices on just about everything at the grocery store, an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza has forced poultry farmers to kill over 23 million chickens and turkeys to limit the spread of disease.
USA Today reported that since the “standard practice” in the poultry industry is to destroy all infected and exposed birds, there are fewer egg-laying hens to “meet the upcoming demand.”
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