Do you like oatmeal or cake?
Once again the bird flu is wreaking havoc on poultry producers. Consumers are feeling the pinch of a shortened supply of shell eggs, and subsequently the increase in price at the grocery stores. Here are a few facts about eggs.
Egg consumption has been rising for years. The latest estimate is that about 280 eggs are eaten per capita per year in the United States. This is understandable since they are used as an ingredient in many delicious items. It has been several decades since health experts have rescinded their advice to avoid eggs due to their cholesterol content. An egg has about 70 calories and is loaded protein and nutrients. There are usually around 300 million laying hens in the United States. And lastly, apparently eggs are a crucial ingredient for baking cakes.
About two years ago I had a customer who complimented me when he found out that I had quit raising chickens after doing so for over a decade. He stated that so many people had become backyard and hobby chicken owners that it was hard for him to sell his surplus egg supply. The market had become so saturated with producers that there were not enough buyers willing to pay the premium for local cage free eggs. When I exited the egg business, I was selling about 30- 50 dozen eggs per week. I was charging $5 per dozen, about twice what the store usually sold them for.
Now with an egg shortage due to millions of hens being culled because of bird flu at many poultry houses, store eggs are selling for more than backyard eggs. However, not everyone is a believer in the supply and demand explanation for the increased price and shortage of eggs. I have had more than one person tell me that there is no shortage, or bird flu, and that the market is being manipulated to extort higher prices from the consumer.
I usually do not contradict them; I find it best to let them believe what they want. This idea is as preposterous to me as some claims I have heard in the past such as a rash of fires shutting down packing and slaughterhouses was not a coincidence, that train derailments were not accidents, that large ships were purposely hitting bridges. And now we have an entire industry in collusion to inflate egg prices. Should I even bring up that every plane crash is now sensationalized to give the impression, I better stop now.
Now about oatmeal. My one brother recently said he eats oatmeal every morning. My other brother commented, “I would kill myself if I ate oatmeal every day.” I personally know I should eat more oatmeal for better health. Plain oatmeal that is, not the highly processed instant oatmeal that has added sugar and salt. How high would the price of eggs have to go to encourage me to eat more oatmeal?
In closing, if there is an executive order to ban cakes, and omelets and require oatmeal for breakfast, I will demand an investigation. Could oat farmers and processors of oats conspire with nutritionists and heart surgeons to force me to eat healthier? They can take my eggs when they pry them from my cold, dead cholesterol hardened hand.
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