Why Are Eggs So Expensive, and WTF Do I Cook Instead?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The good news is that some inflation-hiked foods might be starting to come down in price. But if you’ve taken a scroll online in the past week, you already know the bad news: Eggs, the fourth most-purchased US grocery item, are still doggedly expensive.

By the end of last year, a dozen would set you back $4.25 on average—120% higher than the same time in 2021. That figure doesn’t reflect the reality in states like California, the most expensive US market, where shoppers were paying an average of $7.37 for 12 large Grade A eggs in December. Social media, of course, is a flood of angst. It’s all empty-shelf pictures, angry comments lobbed at egg-centric TikTok recipe developers, distressed memes, and utter disbelief at the highest egg prices in US history.

Link to tweet

Here’s what you need to know about the price of eggs, and, importantly, what the heck home cooks can do about it.

What’s causing egg prices to rise?

Supply chain challenges and increased input costs are partially to blame. But by far the biggest culprit is disease. The worst-ever outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which was first detected in the US in February last year, has resulted in the deaths of more than 44 million egg-laying hens, according to the Agriculture Department. “The flu is the most important factor affecting egg prices,” Maro Ibarburu, a business analyst at the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University, told The Washington Post.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/egg-price-substitution

[rubbersole]

1. Will calling someone an "egg head" become a compliment?

[vsrazdem]

2. I also heard that people were using eggs more now for protein because meat was so expensive,

but I guess that ideas gone now too.

[FSogol]

4. On NPR today, they said more people around the world are middle class now and eat a better

source of protein. Eggs are just a healthier choice than red meat. They said egg demand is at an all-time high.

The also mentioned

high feed prices
capitalism
bird flu

so take your pick,

[underpants]

3. Thanks. Yep the birds are sick and it's spreading quickly

thru the massive food operations

[Sky Jewels]

5. I'm a yuuuuge legume fan.

They're healthy, cheap, delicious, and very, very versatile. (Plus, they don't rely on the confinement and torture of chickens, which are actually very sweet, social, and of course sentient beings that are much smarter than we give them credit for, but that's another issue.)

[JudyM]

6. Been using red lentils a lot, super simple to make.

[Sky Jewels]

41. I love lentils, and not just in soup (which is always delicious, BTW).

[JudyM]

47. Me too! I use them for garlicky spinach soup, dal, & Armenian lentil soup w/dried apricots, mostly.

Have a particular favorite bean recipe? My only go-to’s are veg chili and black beans w/onions/garlic/poblano/cilantro. I haven’t tried many kinds.

[Sky Jewels]

54. Those sound delicious! A few more ideas:

Last edited Fri Jan 20, 2023, 04:51 PM - Edit history (1)

- mash white beans with minced garlic or garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil for an easy sandwich spread/veggie dip/bruschetta topping.

- put the big white beans in soups, e.g., I'd make something similar to this, but leave the chicken out (I'm vegan).
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/tomato-basil-chicken-stew/

- use black-eyed peas as the basis for ... I guess you'd call it a type of salsa (?), but I eat it as a main dish or side. I drain and rinse a can or two of b-e peas (and of course using soaked/cooked dried legumes is always a good option, but it takes more time and effort) and mix them with a balsamic vinaigrette, chopped scallions, chopped herbs like cilantro and/or basil and/or parsley, finely minced garlic, salt/pepper to taste and minced raw veggies like red peppers, carrots, radishes, cauliflower bits, etc. Mix it up and let it sit for a bit before eating. Yum.

- Use black beans in place of ground beef, pork, or chicken in Mexican food (tacos, burritos, etc.).

- make a Caesar salad wrap with a tortilla, but use garbanzos instead of chicken.

- An easy/cheap/healthy/tasty go-to dinner: sautee onions and garlic, add in a can of drained white beans and a bit of veggie broth for liquid, throw in some rosemary (and/or other herbs), heat through, serve over brown rice.

- Pasta with white beans, olive oil, diced tomatoes, onions, roasted red peppers (from jar), oregano and rosemary, parmesan or vegan cheese, and whatever else you want to toss in.

- Lately I've been making split pea soup a lot. So cheap and delicious and easy. I use more onion and garlic and black pepper than the recipe on the back of the bag calls for, just because I like to balance the natural sweetness of the peas and diced carrots with the more savory flavors. I use veggie broth and also add a bit of plain plant milk (like oat) at the end to make it creamier. To make it more substantial, I always throw in lots of diced potatoes. Let it simmer for less than an hour -- voila.

- I make potato leek soup (pureed) and then add in whole frozen green peas for a little texture and protein and tastiness.

[JudyM]

57. Those all look good. I need to use fresh herbs like this more often, that'd make a difference, too.

When you mention white beans, is that cannellini?

I’d love to know if some other beans have different/unusually good flavor. Checked around online and didn’t find much.

Discovered that hummus is great as a soup thickener too, rounds out the flavors as well.

[Sky Jewels]

59. Yes, cannellini and also Great Northern beans. And Navy beans.

Hummus, yes, I forgot about that. I eat it a lot. You can also make pasta sauce with hummus.

I like hummus spread on flatbread, add broken up falafel balls (Trader Joe's frozen -- easy to nuke in less than a minute), tahini, greens, diced red or green onions, tomatoes, cukes, olives, roasted red peppers from jar, maybe something like radishes, and then drizzle on a lemon vinaigrette or some other dressing. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you have any.

We've had some dried red beans (I'm not sure if they're kidney; they're just in a clear bag) in our pantry for a while so today I'm going to soak them and eventually cook them with onions and garlic and figure out what else to do with them.

[tblue37]

49. My favorites are red lentils and Lima beans.

[JudyM]

55. What's your favorite Lima bean recipe?

I never feel inspired to use them, can you help?

[tblue37]

56. I just cook them, add a little butter, and snarf them down unadorned.

[JudyM]

58. Oh, butter! Yeah, that'd do it.

[tblue37]

62. BTW, Lima beans are great in soups & stews. I just had chicken soup I had lots of

vegetables in, and Lima beans were in there, too.

[Celerity]

63. 13 Fresh Lima Bean Recipes

https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/lima-bean-recipes/

[Sky Jewels]

60. I need to get back into limas. I love them, but we tend to have edamame in the freezer instead.

[Karma13612]

66. I wish we could find edamame. It's like

Searching for the holy grail around here! (East coast NC and anywhere in St Lawrence County NY21)

[Sky Jewels]

73. Oh wow, I'm surprised.

I thought they'd made inroads nationally.

We are spoiled on the west coast with incredible pan-Asian ingredients available. Things like edamame are on the shelves of "regular" stores. I live not far from a huge Asian specialty supermarket that has aisles and aisles of ingredients and products you'd find in India to Indonesia to China to Japan, and everywhere in between. I don't know what a lot of the things are, because they don't feature the Roman alphabet.

[Karma13612]

77. Yea, the west coast is waaaaay

Ahead of the east coast overall.

But, things vary greatly from cities to rural areas.

Edamame is known nationally, but in some areas it’s still like finding a needle in a haystack.

Northern New York has everything from Andy of Mayberry style villages all the way to cities with large Medical Centers. But there is still an overcast of small town defiance of progress.

I grew up here, ran to the big city at 18 and returned at 49, much against my will. My husband saw the St Lawrence River as his dream spot for carp fishing and cheap house prices. I won’t bore you with more details. Let’s just say I would like to have gone in a different direction 20 years ago.

[Happy Hoosier]

10. I love beans... but they have a lot of carbs.

I have to limit my intake to control my blood sugar.

But man.... I loves me some red beans and rice... too bad my pancreas doesn't!

[BannonsLiver]

12. Just so long as no one lights a match.

[Sky Jewels]

30. Very true!

There are many days when I'm sure my husband is happy that there are two levels to our house.

[hunter]

44. Gas problem goes away once the microbe population in your gut readjusts to the new environment.

These days if I wanted to go explosive I'd drink a glass of milk.

I could probably eat a can of cheap bean chili without any serious consequences, but I haven't tried it. And I'm more scared of the milk.

[Hekate]

7. I suggest looking up old recipes from the WWII era

Just google “eggless recipes from WWII” to see a multitude of books, pamphlets, and recipes.

That takes care of baking, but the issue of using eggs for protein is a lot trickier. They are really an excellent source of protein — and if meat’s also too expensive, I guess it’s time to dust off our old copies of Recipes for a Small Planet.

[gratuitous]

8. The media sure are obsessed with eggs, aren't they?

What happened to the endless interviews at the pumps of the gougiest filling stations in town? Someone in the news room finally notice the quarterly profits being posted by the oil companies, and wondering if those multi-billion dollar earnings might have something to do with the price of gas?

A carton of eggs is up two bucks over last year! Aux armes, les citoyens!!

[BannonsLiver]

13. So are DUers apparently

There’s a new thread every day to go along with the “get off my lawn” style complaints about other things and of course endless threads about various personal physical ailments I think most of us could do without.

[gratuitous]

15. DU always mirrors media coverage

The reason there are so many threads about eggs is because there are so many "news" stories about the price of eggs. My overriding perception of the media coverage is that they're disappointed this can't be laid at President Biden's feet.

[themaguffin]

23. Yeah & frustrating that stories about eggs don't LEAD w/the avian flu

[chillfactor]

9. I am so lucky!

I get farm fresh eggs free from a neighbor!

[Happy Hoosier]

11. Eggs are still CHEAP food.

I can get a dozen here for 2.89.... less than a quater an egg.

It's a big "meh" to me.

[Karma13612]

17. Wow! That's really cheap

Where are you?

[niyad]

65. My Trader Joe's has cage free eggs 2.65/dozen. Natural grocers 2.99 (but

always out by the time I get there). Colorado Springs.

Thank goodness my friend's hens are laying again.

[Elessar Zappa]

19. They're up to $6 a dozen where I live.

And that’s the cheapest brand at a Walmart in low cost of living New Mexico. Last year they were $1.89, so they’ve gone up $4 in one year.

[ProfessorGAC]

26. $3.39 Here

I went shopping for tonight's dinner & my wife told to pick up a dozen eggs.
No sale, no coupons, no loyalty points.
I have no idea what's causing these large regional differences.

[Elessar Zappa]

28. Yeah, it's weird.

[obamanut2012]

31. SOFL two dozen organic eggs for $4.29 each

At SPROUT's!

I could get lower quality ones for less than $3 a dozen.

[Happy Hoosier]

40. Sure...a percentage prices have gone up a lot...

... but $6/dz is STILL just fifty cents an egg. A three-egg omellette is STILL just a buck-fifty. Compared to other food items? Still dirt cheap food.

That's all I'm, saying.

But it is odd that my cheapest eggs are less than half the price you can get them for. I guess living in the middle of the farm belt helps for something?

[onecaliberal]

22. Eggs are 7 dollars a dozen here.

[louis-t]

14. Here's a tip. If you don't absolutely need them

or the $6 a gallon cheapest OJ you can find, don't buy them. The price will come down only when people refuse to pay. I started only buying one gallon of OJ at a time and I'm watering it down. I really had a hankering for scrambled eggs, but I refuse to buy them. I stopped going to fast food places because $10 for a Wendy's hamburger is out of control. Other places have raised prices 50%. It's no wonder there is never anyone in line at the drive thru anymore. Refuse to pay exorbitant prices. Take a stand! It's the free market.

[Hortensis]

43. Avian flu is the main reason. This wave started early last year and

is worse than the one a few years ago. Friends in both GA and FL who grow their own chickens and normally supply us with eggs have been battling it repeatedly now.

But there are a number of other factors, as mentioned. What isn't mention is that most of them are continuation of fallout from the disastrous 2016 elections and what they brought on us and the planet.

[RockRaven]

16. Price gouging.

Several big egg producers have had zero bird flu themselves but have doubled their prices (and reaped massive profit gains), because they can. They can because supply has been pinched by other producers' bird flu outbreaks. They claim it is morally correct, and a duty, to maximize their profits, so they do.

[Amishman]

37. I suggest you educate yourself

Costs are up a lot too.

Chicken feed is up anywhere from 60 to 100%, depending on where you are. With it being winter, even free range chickens need feed as pickings are thin outside.

Labor is up, as is fuel and electric.

Compounding the supply issues from bird flu is that chickens simply lay fewer eggs in winter.

Yeah, there probably is some gouging - but the majority of the price increase is understandable if you actually know what is going on.

[RockRaven]

38. I suggest YOU educate yourself. Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the country has

had zero avian flu at its production facilities and is reporting a 65% increase in profit from the same period last year. Yeah their costs are up, but their prices are up even more and therefore so are their profits -- because circumstances are such that they can get away with it.

We have a phrase in common usage for when a party greatly increases their prices, especially of an essential commodity, in response to a supply or demand shock -- we call it price gouging.

[druidity33]

39. so my neighbor down the road...

had to euthanize his entire small flock of 65 birds and several ducks just last week. What, am i imagining bird flu? Small farmers who let their hens feed from pasture are more susceptible. So if you are interested in large production facilities that house their birds in giant metal warehouses... by all means buy your eggs from them. But the millions of birds that have already been euthanized won't suddenly start laying eggs again that's for sure.

[renate]

52. That's so sad

I’m so sorry for those poor birds, and your neighbor must be heartbroken.

[druidity33]

53. He's had issues with foxes and...

Fisher cats before but this was devastating. 🙁

[Amishman]

48. Try again.

Roughly half of egg production comes from small farms, not the conglomerates.

Small operations pay spot price for everything and lack the economies of scale of the big boys.

So they have more direct control over their pricing but have the worst cost pressure.

Moreso consider this - the price of eggs at macroeconomic level are set by futures contracts. The big egg producers don't directly control their prices, at least not fully. It's a market commodity, shortage causes competition between buyers, driving up prices.

The commodity contract price hit it's all time high on 13/30, up ~250% year over year. Cal-Maine and the big boys don't set that contract price, though they do benefit from it.

It's beneficial to understand how a market economy works.

[LakeArenal]

18. I remember "back in the olden days" the following were goods we could afford when broke.

Used to be cheap
Dry cereal
Pork ribs
Eggs
Bologna
Even ice cream was 25 cents a scoop
P
In 1970 we also used to find a steak sandwich at a nice restaurant for $1.50

Now rice and beans are the inexpensive foods.

[brooklynite]

24. Are you factoring the CPI increase of the "back in the olden days" prices?

[tritsofme]

35. That $1.50 sandwich in 1970 would be over $11 in today's dollars.

Sounds about right if you saw it on a menu today.

[Retrograde]

46. And in 1970 I was making $1.60 an hour

which was minimum wage. When I got my first (shared) apartment in college, we depended on store-brand frozen pot pies at $0.15 each - and eggs.

[Catherine Vincent]

20. I've always bought the higher priced organic eggs

Happy Eggs and Vital Farms which usually cost around $6. I went to the store on Sunday and they were around $8.

[druidity33]

21. Flax seed with a little water...

and a bare pinch of salt in a blender makes a decent egg replacer. So does the product called "Egg replacer". There's Tofu scramble... though i don't think it has the same texture as egg. If you really need to, you can do without eggs. Maybe consider checking out your local farms if you've got any? I know of one farm in the area that had to shut down because of the avian flu. I've also seen the price hikes at the grocery store. There are definitely less eggs on the shelves.

[phylny]

33. We have been researching many eggless recipes.

Our 18-month-old granddaughter has an allergy, so we are becoming masters of flax eggs, etc.

[bluesbassman]

25. Did a Costco run in The Woodlands TX last night.

The dairy cooler was completely emptied out of eggs. Heard they having rushes on them when they come in. Haven’t seen anything like that since the great TP shortage during Covid.

[shanti]

34. Did that at Costco on Monday

and since eggs are a very important part of my diet (I eat 2 hb daily), bought a 60 count pack of large eggs for $16. The alternative was a 60 pack of medium eggs for $20. I always buy the larger pack, but they aren't always available anymore. I'll give up other things, but not eggs.

[DET]

27. Doesn't Bother Me Much

They may have gone up, but eggs are still a cost effective protein source. And they can be stretched with vegetables (frittata, quiche, omelette, etc) for a healthy meal. What really bothers me is the cost of beef and fish. I’m paying $6/pd or higher for chuck roast, which used to be dirt cheap. I used to cook salmon all the time; it’s way too expensive now and I’ve switched to tilapia. When I get pissed off, I find it helpful to think about the Ukrainians to put things into perspective.

[onenote]

29. Current price - Northern Virginia Harris Teeter

One dozen - 3.69
18 count package - 5.49
30 count package - 7.79

[raccoon]

32. To answer the question, "WTF do I cook instead?"

GRITS!

[Celerity]

36. a 10 pack of basic large eggs here at the ICA near us in inner Stockholm is around $2.22 atm

and often on sale for less than 2 usd

2 dozen are around $4.20

Swedish raised, high quality

these prices INCLUDE the 12% VAT btw

[Hortensis]

61. Unintended budget-busting eggstravagance. My husband eats

2 extra-large eggs for breakfast every other morning; he's getting set in his ways with age, and while I once would have pushed a box of off-brand Wheaties at him, I've been buying them serenely as the price rises. (Even though we're used to getting free eggs from friends, a supply now interrupted by their bird flu battles.)

Today however, due to an on-line order kerfuffle, we came home with 36 extra-large eggs at $8.32 per 18-egg carton. I won't even spend that kind of money for the new book about Biden's first two years. Now I have to blow them on the most expensive egg salad I've ever made.

Did I mention that I don't like eggs? Frittatas are not on the menu.

Just wanted to complain.

[Karma13612]

67. Group hug coming your way!

[Hortensis]

70. Ah, feels good, thanks. Wishing you an abundance of edamame.

Same here in north Georgia. I usually pick up a couple bags of frozen shelled when we go into the city and toss them in all kinds of things.

[Karma13612]

76. I remember those days of

Abundance. Since we moved to a rural area, I get excited when we can just “score” decent rustic grain bread at a bakery. It’s usually just multigrain from Aldi.

[Hortensis]

79. Lol. We know. In L.A. we lived 3-1/2 blocks from a Trader Joe's.

I was constantly dropping by for something. Our walks are far prettier now, though.

Happy Monday.

[Karma13612]

80. Spot on! 🙋‍♀️👍 Same to you 👏🙋‍♀️

[Sogo]

42. There are huge chicken confinement "egg factories" in Iowa.

Last year (and I believe the year before) millions of chickens were destroyed (killed pre-emptively) because of an outbreak of bird flu (caused by migratory birds passing over the area on their seasonal flights). It was bound to affect the price of eggs sooner or later.

[hunter]

45. Eggs I can afford, but what about the price of dog food?

I'm pretty sure most of the chickens my dogs eat as kibble are a byproduct of the egg industry.

[dembotoz]

50. may i suggest the working poor group here on du

some food ideas and hints already there .....more would be good...

[DFW]

69. I would hesitate to start that kind of a wedge

Although not eligible for membership, I always read posts about how people less well off manage to get by. Maybe it’s from being married to a social worker for all these decades, but I want the reminder of “there, but for the grace of God, go I.” Just because I haven’t fallen down the stairs yet, that is no guarantee that I won’t some day.

[dembotoz]

71. no wedge that is where the stuff already is

i did not put it there.

If they had asked me i might have suggested under frugal and energy efficient living

but that is where the resource is.......

[DFW]

72. Frugal and energy efficient living I could definitely get behind.

I live in Europe, so it’s not a theme restricted to the less well-off where I live. With gasoline at $7.50 or more per US gallon, cramped living conditions, and a 19% or more Value Added Tax on everything, it’s not just the lower-income people who have to watch their expenses.

[GoodRaisin]

51. I like eggs, but not enough to pay $7 a dozen.

I’m perfectly happy eating less expensive foods until the price comes back down. For now I’m keeping enough eggs for recipes that require an egg and that’s about it for me.

[DFW]

64. In Germany, for top end, free-range eggs

It's around €3.60 for ten eggs, or about $3.90 for ten, so about $4.68 per dozen, although you can buy the mass-produced ones for a little more than half that, pretty much as in Celerity's part of central Sweden.

[Emile]

68. $2.69 per dozen for brown eggs at Ruler Foods.

[boston bean]

74. You can make a poor man's chocolate cake.

Look for some depression era and ww11 recipes.

[Demsrule86]

75. I get them at Sam's for under 4. It is still

a good source of relatively cheap protein.

[Beartracks]

78. Hadn't noticed egg prices here, but wow did gas prices jump.

Last edited Tue Jan 24, 2023, 01:46 PM - Edit history (1)

Gasoline's a lot higher this week than last.

I suppose the eggs are, too, but I wasn't paying attention as they got rung up.

Edited later: Ha, I think I mis-read the gas pump. It was higher, but not that big a bump.

=================

[SYFROYH]

81. I go throughh 4 dozen eggs a week. Its still a cheap non-legume protein

I love legumes, but carbs are a problem for me.

Weirdly enough, I've been buying Happy Eggs from the grocery store and they haven't really gone up much.
They are usually $5-$6 and are now $5-$7. I wonder if the free range producers have not been hit by the flu as much.