Scenes From an American Egg Shortage

Empty shelves and high prices await at grocery stores across the country due to bird flu outbreaks across the country

Even if you’re not the type of person who eats two eggs for breakfast every single day, you’ve likely noticed that the egg situation in this country is a little bit weird right now. Shelves are empty, prices are high, and that’s all thanks to worsening outbreaks of avian influenza, or bird flu, which have killed millions of birds. There are also concerns about the virus, also known as the H5N1 virus, spreading to other animals, like cows, and humans.

As a result, egg prices are high. Egg-laying chickens are more susceptible to avian flu than chickens raised for meat for a variety of factors. They’re older, and spend much longer on the farm than chickens raised for meat, which are usually slaughtered within a matter of weeks. And while officials are intervening, ordering farms and markets to close and fully disinfect to stop the outbreaks, it’s likely that egg prices will remain high for the foreseeable future. It’s also possible that the shortages could worsen in the coming weeks if outbreaks continue, and the situation is already pretty bleak.

Over the weekend, I headed to three different grocery stores in my neighborhood in the Dallas suburbs — Trader Joe’s, Target, and Kroger — and the egg shelves at each were pretty bare. Every store also had its own version of a sign telling customers that the retailer was struggling to source eggs. “We are currently experiencing high demand and supplier shortages for eggs,” read the sign at Target. “We are actively seeking additional supply.” Others retailers, including Costco and Whole Foods, are limiting the number of cartons that customers can purchase.

Heading out to their own grocery stores, my colleagues at Eater saw similarly empty shelves, purchase limits, and lots of apologetic signage. Here’s what the egg situation looks like at grocery stores in cities across the country.

Sky high egg prices

Eggs were more than $1 each at H Mart in the Los Angeles area.

Kat Thompson

Sparse and totally empty egg shelves

That grocery stores are finding it difficult to keep eggs stocked has been apparent at stores including Whole Foods, Safeway, and Trader Joe’s. A Trader Joe’s in San Diego even used its empty egg shelves to stock other merchandise.

Hilary Pollack

Nat Belkov

Amanda Luansing

Catherine Sweet

Explanations and excuses from grocery stores

Some stores posted signs communicating the dire state of eggs in America.

Nicole Adlman

Harry Cheadle

Amy McCarthy