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PORTSIDE CULTURE

WHY EGG PRICES CAUSE SO MUCH ANGST  
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Stacey Smith
October 9, 2024
Bloomberg
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_ Egg prices were up 28% in last month’s price report.Typically,
when the price of something rises by as much as eggs have this past
year, people will buy less of it.That’s not the case with eggs.
Demand for eggs is relatively inelastic. _

A grocery store in San Anselmo, California., Justin Sullivan/Getty
Images

 

PEOPLE GET EMOTIONAL ABOUT EGGS. After years of reporting on price
spikes, supply chain snags and shortages of everything from cocoa to
coffee to copper, the only thing I’ve ever seen come close to
eliciting egg-level emotion is gas prices … and Taylor Swift
tickets.

Politicians know this—last month Republican vice presidential
candidate JD Vance singled out eggs at a news conference
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Standing in front of a large supermarket display, Vance said: “Eggs,
when Kamala Harris took office, were short of $1.50 a dozen. Now a
dozen eggs will cost you around $4.00.”

Although critics later pointed out a sign behind Vance advertising
eggs at $2.99 a dozen, prices broadly are up almost 150% since 2020,
from about $1.30 a dozen
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The main culprit, however, isn’t the Biden administration’s
policies. A brutal bout of avian flu this year has caused producers to
slaughter tens of millions of egg-laying hens. That’s decimated the
supply and pushed up prices.

Eggs were also a noticeable black mark on last month’s largely
positive inflation report. Overall prices rose by an average of just
2.5%, but egg prices jumped more than 28%
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There’s something going on here beyond normal price fluctuations.
Eggs hold an almost mythical place in many cuisines. Legendary
chef Jacques Pépin has
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the skill of a chef by watching them prepare a French omelet. Eggs are
an essential ingredient in countless recipes around the globe: breads,
biscuits, cakes, meatloaf, dumplings, noodles, sauces and even some
cocktails. When avian flu hammered Australia this year, McDonald’s
restaurants there had to cut back breakfast hours
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Escaping eggs isn’t easy.

Typically, when the price of something rises by as much as eggs have
this past year, people will buy less of it. That lowers demand, which
then tends to bring down prices. That’s not the case with eggs.
“Demand for eggs is relatively inelastic,” says Bill Lapp,
president of Advanced Economic Solutions, which forecasts commodity
prices. “Inelastic demand,” you might remember from high school
economics, is when, even if the price gets so high you feel your heart
burning with the fury of a thousand dying suns, you still hand over
your credit card. Eggs are in this category (along with gasoline …
and Taylor Swift tickets). In spite of egg prices more than doubling
in the past four years, the average American eats about one egg a
day. [[link removed]] That’s
been the case for decades.

One reason for eggs’ inelasticity, Lapp says, is economics. Eggs are
one of the cheapest forms of protein around. Consumers count on them
as a backstop. If beef gets expensive, they can switch to pork. If
pork prices spike, they opt for turkey or chicken. If turkey and
chicken get pricey, they turn to eggs. But when eggs get expensive,
there’s nowhere else to go.

“Eggs are a big deal for a lot of people on a budget,” says Jenna
Thurston, 36 and a mother of three in Lancaster, Wisconsin. Thurston,
aka EBT Mama, runs a popular Facebook group
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account [[link removed]] where she posts
information about SNAP benefits, food prices and local deals. Her more
than 300,000 followers rely on her counsel and exchange advice about
the struggles of feeding families on a tight budget.

Last year, when egg prices spiked, Thurston found the cheapest source
she could: a 60-egg box from Walmart. She would regularly post the
price she saw at her location and her online community would jump in
with the price at their local store. She stopped posting after egg
prices calmed down earlier this year.

“The last time I posted about this was back in May, when the 60-pack
near me was $7.37,” she says, scrolling back through her feed. She
quickly checks the price online: “Oh wow. It’s $17.36 now.
That’s more than double.”

When the inflation report for September drops Thursday morning, Lapp
will be paying special attention to eggs. He expects the price will
rise again: Avian flu is still affecting supply. There’s also a
major egg recall happening in parts of the US.

Lapp might even be eating eggs as he looks through the report. “I am
both an analyst of eggs, as well as an ardent fan of consumption,”
he says with a laugh. “Personally, I like mine scrambled.”

* egg prices
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* Food Prices; Grocery Chains; Food Justice;
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