"As post-pandemic food inflation strained people's wallets, egg prices hit almost $5 per dozen in 2023, and even went above that in 2025. While there is a lot to talk about around why eggs have gotten so much more expensive, it's hard to focus when you realize that same carton of eggs was less than $1.25 in 1990. Now, obviously, part of that is just normal inflation."
"While food inflation has pushed the price of everything up, eggs have jumped in price more because recent outbreaks of bird flu have devastated the population of egg-laying chickens in the U.S. When the flu, also called H5N1, hits a flock, farms must kill all the chickens in response to keep it from spreading. In the most recent outbreak, that meant the country lost 158 million chickens,"
Egg prices rose from under $1.25 per dozen in 1990 to nearly $5 per dozen in 2023 and exceeded $5 in 2025, reflecting both inflation and supply shocks. One 1990 dollar equals roughly $2.46 today, and February 2025 averages reached $5.90 per dozen; December 2025 averages for one dozen large grade A eggs were $2.72. Prices were historically stable until the 2000s, with spikes becoming more common since the 2010s. Recent H5N1 bird-flu outbreaks forced culling of infected flocks, and one outbreak led to the loss of 158 million egg-laying chickens, cutting supply and driving volatility.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]