Which came first: the price hike in eggs, or in the fowl that hatches from them? It seems America is actually aligned with science in this case — eggs first. The price of eggs has been on the rise in conjunction with a bird flu epidemic that began in 2022 (and is ongoing). But since neither epidemiology nor animal husbandry follow the political calendar, many voters decided in 2024 that a new party had to be given the reins to bring prices back down. And how’s that working out for us? Wellllll… Bird flu is still running rampant (and, as it turns out, another contagious avian disease), meanwhile this administration has been steadily cutting funding to programs that could help the situation. Oh, and turkey prices are up 40% this year (an increase of 38 cents per pound), just in time for Thanksgiving. Gobble gobble… our paychecks.

More than 2.2 million turkeys have been impacted by bird flu this year, the Farm Bureau reports, with more than 600,000 cases in September alone. This surge, the agency says, comes amid the start of waterfowl migration season — and the Farm Bureau expects more cases as migration continues, with infected wild birds spreading the virus.

As a result, a frozen whole turkey will cost $1.32 per pound — up 4 cents from last month, and up 38 cents from last year, said the agency, citing USDA predictions. It’s a 40% jump from last year’s price of 94 cents per lb.

Bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), is caused by a virus that can result in serious illness and death in birds and mammals. However, it’s just one of the illnesses impacting flocks.

The agency also warns of Avian Metapneumovirus (AMPV), a less deadly, but still wildly contagious disease that impacts the number of eggs laid by infected birds, making it difficult to replace birds lost to HPAI.

The National Turkey Foundation estimated last year that up to 80% of turkey flocks were infected with AMPV, which complicates the situation with the surge in bird flu.

Meanwhile, farmers are working to protect their flocks with biosecurity efforts.

“It takes just one contact with this virus to sicken or kill your birds,” the USDA warns in its advice to farmers on how to protect their flocks from wild birds that carry and spread the disease. “In a single day, the avian influenza virus can multiply and infect every bird on your premises.”

While risk to humans remains low, the virus can and has sickened humans, killing one Louisiana man at the start of the year. In May, the Trump administration pulled funding for a bird flu vaccine in humans, citing concerns about mRNA technology. Results from Moderna’s bird flu vaccine research were positive and generated “a rapid, potent and durable immune response,” the company said in a statement at the time.

[From People]

This administration is such a cluckerf–k in every which way, it’s almost impressive. (But no, it’s all depressive.) So, egg prices are still surging from bird flu — and bird metapneumovirus, apparently — to the extent that up to 80% of turkey flocks were infected. The way farmers address infections is, unfortunately, to kill the whole flock. While previously the government has compensated farmers for flocks that have had to be slaughtered like this, that’s unlikely to continue in any substantial way with the current robber barons in charge. So the result is fewer eggs, fewer birds hatching from those eggs, and prices for everything flying sky high. But wait, there’s more! There is a risk of bird flu spreading to humans, for which a promising vaccine was in the works thanks to the advancement of mRNA science. So naturally, this administration cut funding for that program as well, first specifically for the bird flu mRNA vaccine, then for mRNA research writ large. Hey, remind me again, how are vaccines developed without mRNA? Oh yeah, IN EGGS. I’m not going mad, you are!

In all honesty, I personally don’t put up a squawk over lost turkey. It’s not my favorite bird to eat, and when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, I’m there for the mashed potatoes. It’s the devastation wrought by diseases across species that has me outraged; bird flu in our fowl friends, stupidity in our foul government.

Photos credit: RDNE Stock project, Monstera Production and Cottonbro Studios