Egg supply ‘strained’ by bird flu and shortage frustrates Americans

In the United States, Americans go to grocery stores and notice that many egg aisles are almost empty or empty, period.

“You can’t find eggs anywhere, I mean anywhere,” Fox News host Jesse Watters said on “Jesse Watters Primetime” Wednesday evening, January 22. “I can only get the bad ones that just aren’t yellow and aren’t yellow.” not soft.

In New Jersey, Watters said, “you just can’t get good, organic, pasture-raised eggs.”

“So Donald Trump, before we settle the drone issue, we need eggs,” Watters said. “And we need it quickly.”

Eggs are indeed rare, and Watters’ favorite pasture-raised eggs are even harder to find.

“The national egg supply has been strained due to highly pathogenic avian influenza – also known as HPAI or bird flu – which is devastating to egg producers,” said Emily Metz, president and CEO of the Chicago-based American Egg Board, in a statement. provided to Fox News Digital.

The nonprofit provides resources for “marketing eggs nationally by category,” according to its website.

The United States alone lost more than 40 million laying hens to avian flu in 2024, Metz said.

While the entire country is experiencing an egg shortage to some extent, Metz said the situation is worse in states with laws requiring grocery store eggs to be “cage-free.”

The states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon and Washington all have this legislation, according to CageFreeLaws.com, which tracks cage-free animal legislation by State.

“Supply disruptions may be more pronounced (among) retailers and in states that exclusively sell free-range eggs due to the impacts of HPAI on cage-free farms, which have been significantly impacted disproportionately high at the end of last year,” Metz told Fox News Digital.

In the United States, about 40 percent of laying hens live “cage-free,” she said.

Of the birds lost to bird flu, more than half are free-ranging, Metz added. “It is important to know that avian flu does not discriminate based on farm size or housing environment. The disease is carried by wild birds,” she said.

Once a laying hen tests positive for bird flu, the entire flock is culled to prevent spread, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“When an egg farm is affected by HPAI, it must go through several stages with government approvals before it can repopulate new flocks, a necessary process that can take six months to a year,” further adding to the supply issues, Metz said.

Egg production, she said, is “both complex and time sensitive,” she said.

“What we know right now is that our system is under strain and HPAI remains a clear and present risk to poultry flocks,” Metz said.

“Retail egg volume has increased year over year for 22 consecutive months, and we are just coming off the highest demand season of the year – the winter holidays – where egg sales Eggs increase significantly due to holiday baking. and entertaining,” Metz said.

The increase in demand also impacts the supply of eggs in the United States.

Despite these challenges, Metz said there is reason to be hopeful for the future.

“The good news is that egg producers have a lot of experience working together to get eggs across the country to where they are needed most – and that is exactly what they are doing now,” he said. she declared.

“Keeping their birds safe and healthy is every egg producer’s top priority, and they work around the clock to protect their birds, replenish the supply, and keep those eggs coming.” »

Fox News Digital reached out to Costco for comment, where customers have noticed recent egg shortages. Many local grocery stores across the country have also seen supplies dwindle and prices rise.