What Happened to the Food?

For anyone who has eaten salad or bought any fresh vegetables recently would note that the price of fresh produce has gone up. Meanwhile, a dozen eggs are $0.48, that's $0.04 an egg. I don't recall seeing an egg for less than a nickel in my life time.

When I worked at the food distribution center, I knew what was coming down the pike before John Q. Public saw it on the grocery store shelf. I don't work there now so I'm out of the loop. Does anyone know what is happening?

Jeanette Isabelle

Weather drove the price of lettuce up to the some of the highest levels I've ever seen. I'm not sure why eggs are so cheap right now but I have noticed that.

Interesting
Food deal: Eggs haven’t been this cheap in over a decade | The Wichita Eagle

Cheap eggs flood US grocery stores | Fox Business

Our eggs aren't as cheap as you all's. Just now paid $2.19 for a dozen extra large store brand.

Like Heaertig, I haven't noticed lower prices on eggs, or anything else, for that matter. I pay about $2 a dozen for extra large, and slightly less if I but them 18 at a time. The price is about the same if I get them at the grocery store, Wal-Mart, or a local farm.

In my experience, buying from the local farmers is more expensive than buying produce or meat at the grocery store or Wal-mart, but I feel much better about supporting them.

I'm living in the wrong area of Canada. Large eggs here today are $2.79 per dozen. Extra large are $2.88 per dozen.

Food is a commodity and is subject to laws of supply and demand. Prices are also being pressured by inflation & deflation forces which are both present in the economy. With the price of fresh produce going up, the price of eggs going down is surprising. The cost of raising & feeding chickens and all that goes with the production & marketing of eggs is also governed by S&D forces.

Is demand for eggs going down or is the price of feed going down which is allowing the chicken farmers to drop their prices? If the price of chicken feed is going down, why is the price of fresh produce going up? Look at the supply and demand forces in play in those different food groups. What changed?

EMP answered the question. To summarize, the industry acquired more egg-laying hens than what they thought they need.

Jeanette Isabelle

Cool, so too much supply caused the price to fall. Makes perfect sense. Thanks.

You people are getting a good deal on eggs. If you saw what we are paying in So. California for a dozen eggs laid by "chickens who are free to run and scratch" ... you would have a heart attack.

What happened to the world's chickens anyway? I remember a time when all chickens ate corn or grains, didnt get stuffed with hormones, and ran around in the sunshine. Did chickens get kidnapoed by ISIS?? ... why aren't they free anymore.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Pete

It´s much worse. The chickens got kidnapped by the food industry. There are specialized breeds for laying eggs or for the chicken grill. They cull about half of the population (roosters don´t lay eggs and hens don´t go on the grill). Those specialized breeds seem to have a lot of ailments that require medical treatment. Most of them may not even have seen actual sunlight.
Around here eggs are cheap (about 1€ per 10pcs). You may even get a liberal dose of insecticides for free with it.

It's because we're old Pete. I remember chickens running around free in the back yard. But I was a free range farm kid.

Did chickens run free in the city? My sisters and I lived with our grandmother for four years and I don't recall her mentioning chickens.

Jeanette Isabelle

We didn't live in the city. Our back yard was really big.

I moved a couple weeks ago but in the place I moved from it was totally legal to have chickens in town (population 175,000). My neighbors in fact had a fair number of chickens in their yard.