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Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

(civileats.com)
310 points greenie_beans | 5 comments | 19 Feb 25 21:46 UTC | HN request time: 0.26s | source
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redcobra762 ◴[20 Feb 25 14:52 UTC] No.43115368[source]▶
I genuinely don't understand why the focus is on egg prices. Who out there is paying more than a total of $3-$5/month more in eggs? And no, even to the absolutely poorest among us, that's not a meaningful amount.

Yes, egg prices, as a percentage are going up a lot, but as an absolute value? I can get a dozen eggs from Walmart right now for $5.46. That isn't, by any measurement, a lot of money more than I would have paid a year ago.

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1. nbaugh1 ◴[20 Feb 25 15:07 UTC] No.43115584[source]▶
TBH I haven't even noticed a price increase here in Brooklyn. I did notice that a lot of the "oh no eggs are running out" hysteria lined right up with some incoming winter storms, which typically drives up demand for basics like eggs, milk, and bread in the days before. Empty shelves for these items is incredibly common before snow. I don't doubt that there are places gouging, especially in Manhattan, but I just don't understand who is being impacted so much if I'm not seeing the same in one of the most HCOL and urban areas in the country
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2. indoordin0saur ◴[20 Feb 25 15:40 UTC] No.43116025[source]▶
So weird how people freak out over winter storms in NYC. In the decade I've been here I don't think I've seen a single snowstorm had enough of an impact to close grocery stores.
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3. throwup238 ◴[20 Feb 25 16:19 UTC] No.43116551[source]▶
Probably because no one wants to be on the street with a bunch of drivers that only see snow once a year just to pick up some eggs. More than a quarter of accidents happen in such conditions even though most of the population only sees snow for a short time out of the year so it’s not unwarranted.
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4. indoordin0saur ◴[20 Feb 25 19:28 UTC] No.43119027{3}[source]▶
But in NYC people don't really drive, hence why it's in particular weird that they have the same behavior as suburbanites. If you were really starving food is just a 3 minute walk away.
5. crazygringo ◴[20 Feb 25 19:38 UTC] No.43119147[source]▶
The price increases in Brooklyn have been huge.

And the eggs haven't been selling out before winter storms -- there haven't been any serious storms that anybody has "prepared" for, just regular snow. There's been absolutely no increase in price for milk or bread or anything else.

This is entirely because of bird flu, it's supply and demand, it's not price gouging.

I don't know why you're trying to convince yourself that the empty shelves at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods are due to winter storms, or why you haven't noticed that eggs are $9 at your local bodega. Trader Joe's in Brooklyn even has signs explaining that the empty shelves are because of shortages from suppliers.

Again -- it's bird flu, pure and simple.