- Eggs are becoming more and more expensive and more difficult to find while avian flu strikes us herds of chicken.
- This is bad news for some people who use GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
- Eggs are lean proteins, eaten by many GLP-1 users, forcing some people to search for alternatives.
Some people using GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic for weight loss have a problem: eggs are suddenly expensive and difficult to find.
The eggs are not only tall with fitness fans and Gaston of “Beauty and the Beast”. They are a logical protein option for people who take Ozempic, Wegovy or similar medication, said Amanda Oren, vice-president of the industry strategy for grocery store in North America at Rexle, a platform supply chain. In addition, they naturally contain little fat, salt or sugar – good for weight loss plans.
They are one of the foods that GLP-1 users buy more than people who are not on the drug, according to a December report from the Circana market supplier. The report revealed that GLP -1 takers buy less oily protein – think of the big fatty burgers, for example, and less alcohol and savory snacks.
Many users – 49% – said in December that their households had spent less in food after starting to take the medication, according to a survey by Purdue University. Users generally have lower appetites and eat less.
When they are Buying food, “these are eggs, and it is the departments of meat and seafood that have seen the bump” in sales, said Oren.
But egg fans – whether on drugs against weighing or not – take a big financial blow at the moment, thanks to the spread of avian flu in laying chickens in the United States. The disease has led farms to reduce their herds and reduce production. In January, the United States had 8% fewer egg-weighted chickens than three years earlier, a Cobank report published on Thursday revealed.
While avian flu has been hitting egg production in the United States for a few years, prices have recently increased. As of January 30, the cost of a dozen Midwest eggs was $ 7.08, according to the American department of agriculture. This increased by $ 1.65 three years earlier.
The retailers and restaurants reacted. Dinner Chain Waffle House cited avian flu on Monday when she added an additional 50 cents to each egg he sells. The Aldi grocery store has limited customers to buy two dozen eggs both in certain stores.
Another factor: two laws, one in Colorado and another in Michigan, entered into force on January 1 and require that all the eggs sold in the United States come from farms without cage. Some suppliers were not ready for the switch, which contributed to shortages, said Oren.
“All these different factors of growing demand, then multiple factors decreasing the supply, led to what I would call a perfect storm,” she said.
The high prices of eggs are likely to stay, according to Cobank. A solution to avian flu is not obvious. The demand, on the other hand, is about to make a seasonal stage, with Easter down on April 20. The projections of the American Department of Agriculture suggest, however, that prices could start to drop in the second quarter of 2025.
Fortunately, people who take GLP-1 have other choices of protein, said Oren of Relex.
In addition to meat options – think of chicken breasts – the number of lean and meat protein options has multiplied in recent years, she said. The options vary from long -time established options such as egg tofu, an egg substitute based on Mungo beans which had previously been announced as resistant to avian flu.
“There are many more alternatives today than before,” said Oren.
American consumers have another option, said Joseph Balagtas, director of the Center for Food is asking for Purdue University: they can continue to eat eggs – and eat price increases.
Even for GLP-1 users, eggs are a small amount of buyers’ total grocery budgets. This, in addition to the fact that there are fewer good substitutes for certain egg uses, as in cooking, means that many people are likely to continue to buy.
“Many Americans have the chance to win enough where it hurts, but not much,” said Balagtas. “So I don’t reduce my consumption much.”
You or your business have you been assigned by the high prices of eggs and / or the shortage of eggs? Contact this journalist at abitter@businessinsider.com
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