“I want I had excellent news about eggs, however alas, I don’t,” my colleague Emily Stewart wrote again in January 2025 in an article about how eggs are most likely simply going to be costly… without end.
She talked to a ton of individuals effectively positioned to know what was driving the price of eggs: egg trade specialists (there’s somebody with the wonderful job title “managing editor of eggs within the Americas”), professors of veterinary medication, epidemiologists, and the CEO of the American Egg Board.
The specialists agreed that, along with components like sure state legal guidelines on farming practices (a number of states have cage-free legal guidelines that make native egg manufacturing dearer), the largest issue was the unfold of avian flu, which was extra widespread than up to now.
What nobody appeared to know on the time was that there was maybe one other issue occurring: worth fixing.
The egg price-fixing scandal
The Division of Justice simply introduced this week that it has proposed a settlement for an investigation towards three massive egg producers, alleging that between 2022 and March 2025, they colluded to maintain costs excessive by coordinating bids on egg exchanges, or the market the place egg producers purchase and promote from one another.
The three egg producers, Cal-Maine, Versova, and Hickman’s Egg Ranch, allegedly spoke on the cellphone and over textual content to make plans about learn how to hold costs excessive, which finally would have an effect on what you noticed within the grocery retailer.
The proposed settlement by the DOJ, together with 17 state attorneys basic, requires the three egg firms to pay a mixed $3.3 million advantageous and donate over 50 million eggs to meals banks. The settlement must be accepted by a court docket.
The businesses have agreed to the settlement, which does not require admission of any wrongdoing. In an announcement, a consultant for Versova mentioned, “Our resolution to just accept this settlement merely displays our agency intention to place this matter behind us and deal with our enterprise.” A consultant for MTQ USA, Hickman’s proprietor, mentioned that the problem predates its acquisition of the corporate in November 2025.
This is not to say that manipulation was the principle or solely issue. The avian flu epidemic was actual and affected a lot of producers. Hickman’s, for instance, mentioned in June 2025 that the flu was answerable for the deaths of 95% of its flock.
Egg costs obtained political
What feels, to me, so infuriating about this (alleged) price-fixing is how enormous a deal egg costs have been on the time. We could not cease speaking about egg costs! It was always within the information. (I admit some bias right here, as somebody concerned in writing about egg costs throughout this era.)
Eggs turned the avatar of the complete price of groceries and the general cost-of-living crunch for common People. Inflation in the course of the 2020s made practically all the things dearer, and rising grocery costs harm the pockets of tens of millions of households.
It was extremely political, too. Throughout the 2024 election cycle, the price of groceries — particularly eggs — was a high subject for candidates. It is most likely a stretch to say egg costs clinched the election for Donald Trump, nevertheless it’s not completely incorrect. A number of voters listened to his guarantees to ease inflation, particularly round grocery costs.
Trump himself believed he gained primarily based on egg costs. In an interview with “Meet the Press” simply earlier than he took workplace, he mentioned, “If you purchase apples, once you purchase bacon, once you purchase eggs, they might double and triple the value over a brief time period, and I gained an election primarily based on that.”
In January 2025, on the similar time Emily Stewart wrote about eggs being costly without end, costs hit $4.95 a dozen, Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote a letter to the President particularly about egg costs, demanding to know when he’d fulfill his marketing campaign guarantees to decrease them.
Three months later, when costs hit an all-time excessive of $6.23, the Division of Justice introduced its investigation into the alleged price-fixing scheme.
As somebody who eats a good quantity of eggs, it is certainly aggravating to should pay extra. It is additional infuriating to think about that this is not simply due to unlucky circumstances like a chicken flu outbreak, however due to some type of unlawful manipulation.
I am mad! I imply, I assume I am at all times mad about unlawful worth fixing, however this affected me straight — each as a result of I needed to pay extra on the retailer, and likewise as a result of a lot of our psychological vitality had gone into speaking in regards to the worth of eggs. I really feel glaslit!
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