Americans are likely to be outraged at hearing the news of Big Egg’s unprecedented profits and corporate greed.
The unscrupulous tactics used by Cal-Maine Foods and their cronies have no doubt lead to skyrocketing egg prices that make it difficult for everyday Americans to afford breakfast or balm their economic woes.
Daily wire reports, you probably remember when the price of eggs spiked, and providers said it was due to inflation, increased transportation costs, a sudden drop in production, and some kind of avian flu?
Well, Pepperidge Farm remembers.
This was the corporate media’s explanation of the egg price increases.
As it turns out, Cal-Maine Foods, the largest U.S. egg producer, doubled its revenue last quarter to nearly a billion dollars as egg prices rose sharply – and profits shot up 718 percent. Production wasn’t down either. The number of eggs sold by Cal-Maine, which controls about 20% of the domestic egg market, increased by 1%.
A dozen eggs sold for an average of $3.30 in the quarter ending February 25. The average price of a dozen was $1.61 a year earlier, but now it’s more than twice that. It was reported that their net income increased from $39.5 million to $323.2 million.
Farmers’ advocacy group Farm Action says top U.S. egg producers are colluding to fix prices to gouge consumers. As Farm Action wrote in a January letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the collusion had helped egg producers “extract egregious profits up to 40%.”
Avian flu is not to blame, according to the letter. “Examining publicly-available financial data from the egg industry, the letter determines that the supply disruption caused by the avian flu outbreak had an ‘apparently mild impact on the industry,’” the group said in a press release.
While the truth is out there the mainstream media spinmasters are continuing the narrative ahead of the Easter holiday.
Cnbc reports, as measured by the consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, egg prices have been impacted by the same supply chain snarls and labor shortages that increased food costs by 10.1% overall in the last year. U.S. egg production has also been impacted by an avian flu outbreak that wiped out 50.54 million birds in 2022.
Besides wild birds mingling with poultry flocks, the avian influenza virus can also be spread through contaminated clothing and equipment. As a result of the loss of flocks, egg prices in some states have nearly tripled in the last year.
According to a report released last week by the US Department of Agriculture, the retail price for a dozen large eggs in California is currently $7.37, up from $2.35 a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the outbreak has subsided somewhat, which has lowered prices. As of mid-February 2023, wholesale eggs prices have fallen by more than 50% since December. While farms have taken measures to limit the spread of avian flu, experts say that the virus could resurge in spring, when wild birds migrate across the US.
It’s no surprise that the big egg companies are reporting painful profits – the economy is in a state of decline, inflation continues to skyrocket, and corporate greed is at an all-time high. It’s truly shameful how Big Egg has cashed in on a simple food item, price-fixing and exploiting consumers for their own gain. Unfortunately, Joe Biden’s economic policies have not saved us from this shocking truth behind the egg industry’s success. We must demand that our politicians help those who suffer from these egregious business practices and put an end to Big Egg’s egg-stravagant lifestyle.
Let’s continue this conversation, in the comments below.
