In the United States, “raising chickens in your backyard” has become a trend in domestic households due to the skyrocketing price of eggs. As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the national average price of a dozen eggs reached $4.95 in January—more than twice the price from a few years ago—and peaked at $6.85 last week. 

Rising prices are the consequence of a nationwide scarcity of chickens caused by the outbreak of the H5N1 virus, most commonly known as “bird flu.” Since February 2023, this highly transmissible avian influenza has affected approximately 166 million birds, legally mandating the culling of entire flocks to prevent further spread; this created a supply shortage of eggs that has led to scarcity and increased costs. As a result, the surge in egg prices led to more and more Americans buying chickens to raise at home to avoid paying exorbitant prices for eggs, giving rise to new businesses such as “Rent the Chicken,” which delivers chickens along with a manual, providing monthly guidance to ensure your hens lay 12 eggs a week.

President Donald Trump, during his electoral campaign, had promised his voters “to make eggs affordable again” on his first day of office – a promise he has yet to fulfill. As a matter of fact, statistics show that the price is set to increase by an additional 20% in the next few months. The Trump administration planned a $1 billion investment to support producers most affected by the outbreak, thus combating bird flu and reducing prices. However, as  Vice President J.D. Vance said, “It is going to take a bit of time. Rome wasn’t built in a day and while we’ve done a whole lot, we can’t undo all the damage of Joe Biden’s presidency in four days.”

Meanwhile, the justice department has opened an investigation regarding the causes of price inflation and potential efforts by the largest suppliers to manipulate the crisis for profit. As farmers and small businesses struggle to sustain the surging costs, the country’s leading egg producer and distributor has experienced a steep increase in its profits. Cal-Maine Foods, a Mississippi-based company which accounts for one out of every five eggs consumed in the U.S., tripled its revenue, from 500,000 to 1 billion dollars, following the outbreak of the avian influenza. 

As Amanda Starbuck stated in the F.W.W. 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.” Farm Faction, an advocacy group of small farmers “fighting corporate capture of American agriculture policy,” declared that prices have risen significantly more than necessary in proportion to the number of chickens lost. In recent months, 15% of the country’s chickens have been culled, while the price of eggs has increased by 255%. Recent studies have confirmed that the H5N1 virus alone can account for only a 12-24% rise in retail prices.

The growing dominance of major distributors over the increasingly fragile local businesses has raised serious concerns. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with several other members of the Democratic Party, sent a letter to President Trump questioning the lack of actions to counter the anti-competitive behaviour of the largest U.S. egg suppliers. Warren wrote: “To make food more affordable, you should look to the dominant food and grocery companies that have made record profits on the backs of working families who have had to pay higher prices…The egg company [Cal-Maine] and its shareholders are making higher profits while Americans shell out more for grocery staples.”

Thus, middle-class Americans, local producers, restaurants, and diners bear the burden of the disproportionate rise in the price of eggs while egg suppliers capitalize on this crisis. The Trump administration’s ongoing inaction threatens to amplify economic inequality and empower large corporations, undermining free competition and fairness. Small advocacy groups and the Democratic Party are calling for immediate government intervention to prevent the exploitation and anti-competitive behaviour of the powerful at the expense of the most vulnerable.