In 2022, there was a spike in the avian influenza epidemic surrounding the country’s poultry supply. ABC News described it as “the deadliest bird flu outbreak in U.S. History, ” killing more than 57.8 million birds nationally. 

According to ABC News, most birds being affected are egg-laying hens. Farmers are cautious now because all it takes is a single bird to get infected to ruin an entire flock. During Thanksgiving season, there were also concerns regarding obtaining turkeys to put on the table due to the illness. 

As a result of the avian flu epidemic, at the start of 2023, there was a noticeable spike in egg prices.Fewer eggs are filling store shelves, making the protein hard to come by, and if one were to manage to get their hands on a carton, it would be expensive. 

Bird flu is one explanation for why the egg prices have shot up, and the other is the ban against the sale of eggs from caged birds. In 2018, California voters approved the animal welfare initiative, better known as Prop 12, which improved living conditions for farmed animals. Going into effect last January, Proposition 12 affects mostly pigs and hens, and demands that all eggs sold in California have to be produced in a cage-free setting. 

With the limited access to so much space, California producers have not been able to keep up with the demand. Eggs can range from $4.00 all the way to $15.00 a carton. 

Junior Jessica Orgill said that her family usually buys two to three cartons of eggs on each shopping trip. Now, however, they have only been buying one carton due to the price. 

“I use eggs literally every day. I need them, I hate that they’re expensive,” Orgill said. “And there’s a lot of people in our family, and eggs are easy to feed a lot of people.” 

Consumers have been finding alternative sources to get their eggs such as getting eggs from a family friend to combat the prices of eggs still rising. This was the case for RCHS junior Shareen Siddiqui and her family. Like Siddiqui, others have been getting their egg supply from family friends or by buying chickens to collect their own eggs. 

With the Avian flu, the amount of chickens for sale on the market has been decreasing, causing people buy chicks. 

While collecting eggs from one’s own chickens is an alternative combatant of the rising prices, a Germany-based company “Perfeggt” has developed a new egg alternative made out of fava beans. The question many are now asking is “could this be the future of eggs?”