Trump Administration Announces $1 Billion to Combat Avian Flu and Soaring Egg Prices

That's good news. Although I have to point out that he missed "day one" of his administration by over a month.

 

Just like with COVID so is with Bird Flu, there are many "conspiracy" theories.
I will share one for today

 

TLDR: This wont lower the cost of eggs anytime soon

An incentive program for chicken farmers wont do much when it is now a public health emergency that is spreading to other animals and humans. Even with vaccines, I suspect it is so widespread and virulent it will just mutate resistance given the confined space of poultry farms and new administrations plan to stop culling sick birds.

The importation of eggs may lower the cost temporarily, but it is only a matter of time before it spreads to other countries. In the mean time, these subsidies will need to continue to be paid to American farmers as long as it remains cheaper to import them.

Even if the virus gets eradicated, it will take many months, maybe even years, to get poultry production up in the productive levels it was last year.

This plan also ignores the issues it is currently causing to the beef industry, and may cause to others soon.

This may become COVID-19 all over again thanks to the terrible mismanagement by the Trump cases in the US. You cant have a pandemic if you don't track it, right?

 

He is a chiropractor.

 

He is just the host: the info is provided by Clayton Baker, M.D.
· Clayton J. Baker, MD C.J. Baker, M.D. is an internal medicine physician with a quarter century in clinical practice.
He has held numerous academic medical appointments
https://brownstone.org/articles/bird-flu-is-a-rerun-of-the-covid-playbook/


https://brownstone.org/about/

 

Okay, where here is one of many peer-reviewed scientific articles written by doctors, microbiologists, and public health experts that negates what that video says.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08054-z

 

Now you are talking!
Good stuff.

 

Okay...why is a billion spent to address a CHICKEN epidemic a GOOD thing but a billion spent to combat HUMAN disease is a BAD thing?

 

Or do all those chickens just need spinal adjustments?

 

At the cabinet meeting Musk falsely claimed that they reinstated the money to fight Ebola. Reporting is that that is a lie. So from that perhaps the conclusion is that it is a good thing to claim you're spending money to fight a human disease but a bad thing to actually do it?

Come to think of it, remembering who we're talking about here they might simply just be lying about spending money to address the bird flu? I almost forget my rule about just assume that they are lying until I see any evidence.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/5-dozen-major-egg-companies-100042475.html

"Major egg corporations may be using avian flu as a ruse to hike up prices, generating record profits while hurting American consumers, new research suggests.

The cost of a dozen large eggs hit almost $5 in January – a record high in the US and more than two and a half times the average price three years ago before the avian flu outbreak. This signifies a 157% inflation rate for eggs – a previously go-to affordable protein source for many American families.

And while avian flu has been a principal driver of rising consumer egg prices, the highly concentrated egg market may also be contributing to the soaring consumer prices – and the spread of the virus, according to new analysis by Food and Water Watch (FWW) shared exclusively with the Guardian"

“Bird flu does not fully explain the sticker shock consumers experience in the egg aisle … corporate consolidation is a key culprit behind egg price spikes,” said Amanda Starbuck, lead author of the FWW report The Economic Cost of Food Monopolies: The Rotten Egg Oligarchy.

“Powerful corporations that control every step of the supply chain – from breeding hens to hatching eggs to processing and distributing eggs – are making windfall profits off this crisis, raising their prices above and beyond what is necessary to cover any rising costs.”

 

An interesting article, it seems to ignore the supply and demand effect on egg prices though. I would think that also plays a part. For example, some folks buy large truck loads of eggs in one area and drive them to an area with much higher prices. Thereby reducing the supply and raising prices in areas not impacted at the time by avian flu.

 

Also, there are two main types of egg producers: large corporations and smaller, private farms.
Large producers operate on a larger scale with lower prices due to efficiency but are more vulnerable to disruptions like bird flu and corporate consolidation, which can cause price hikes. Smaller farms, focusing on niche products like organic or free-range eggs, maintain higher prices due to more expensive production methods but are less affected by disease outbreaks. They often keep prices stable, as their operations are less exposed to broader market shifts.

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/07/doj-investigation-egg-price-fixing-bird-flu-00218785

"The Justice Department is investigating whether the nation’s largest egg producers are conspiring to keep prices high as the bird flu outbreak worsens and grocery stores start setting rations for customers, two people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

The price-fixing investigation is in very early stages and targets large egg producers such as Cal-Maine Foods and Rose Acre Farms, the people said. The Capitol Forum first reported the DOJ investigation.

The Justice Department declined to comment. Cal-Maine and Rose Acre did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

More than 160 million commercial poultry have died or been culled as a result of this current outbreak of avian influenza, which dates back to 2022. Egg-laying hens have been hit particularly hard, and egg prices have soared as a result: In January, the average price of a dozen large, grade-A eggs was $4.95, a record high according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics."

 

Investigating price gouging wont address the fact the bird flu is ranging, which is the main driver of the increase in cost.

 

What am I lookin at?