Golden eggs: While you shell out, companies rake in record profits

You might be struggling with the cost of a dozen eggs, but the big egg producers are celebrating record profits! In just one year, egg prices have gone up approximately 59%, pushing what was once considered a dietary staple out of reach for many workers.

As a young girl, I can remember my mother making scrambled eggs for dinner when there wasn’t much else in the refrigerator, and later as a mother myself, telling my family, “Don’t complain, there’s eggs to eat.”

But that’s changed. 

The blame has been placed on the bird flu, which has killed flocks of chickens, undoubtedly reducing production. But another flu that has knocked prices up is called “predatory capitalist profiteering flu.”

Take the example of the largest egg-producing company in the country, Cal-Maine. This Mississippi-based egg giant just reported quarterly profits of $509 million. This is three times what it made in the last year. In fact, Cal-Maine has had three years of incredible earnings since the avian flu outbreak in 2022.

During this period, Cal-Maine tripled the price of eggs.

In addition, Cal-Maine received tens of millions of dollars from the government through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The company received government handouts twice, first for $22 million, then $21 million.

Cal-Maine is not the only major egg producer benefiting from bailouts; Hillandale received $53 million, Versova raked in $107 million, and Rembrandt Foods $26 million. None of these companies reports profit figures.

The only conclusion is that the avian flu might have been hard for the birds and the people who consumed eggs, but it was great for profits. Maybe it’s time for pitchforks at their gates. I can almost hear their million-dollar execs and CEO’s say, “Let them eat eggs.”