Why RFK Jr.’s anti-vax agenda might make eggs more expensive this winter
USDA workers disinfected a work crew at a Jennie-O turkey farm in Eden Valley, Minnesota, during the 2015 bird flu outbreak. | Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images If egg prices surge this winter, one of the main drivers will likely be H5N1, or bird flu. Since 2022, it’s decimated the US poultry industry, resulting in the deaths of over 160 million egg-laying hens. And when there are fewer hens, there are fewer eggs, which leads to shortages and price hikes. This happened in early 2023 when avian flu was circulating: Egg prices increased by 65 percent compared to a few months prior, and in 2025, it happened again, reaching a national average of more than $6 per dozen. (There’s also some evidence, per a Justice Department investigation, that suggests major egg companies may have colluded to raise prices, too.) We have the tools to slow the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) without such high mortality, though; the United States has several effective bird flu vaccines, and egg (and turkey) producers want to use them on their birds. Last year, it seemed like they soon might be able to. In early 2025, the Trump administration announced that it would begin formulating a plan...
Read full article
