Avian influenza is devastating poultry operations, spreading in dairy cattle and infecting farm workers. Why isn’t the United States doing more to stop it? In spring, consumers in the United States found themselves having to hunt for something that had previously been exceedingly easy to find: eggs. Some supermarkets limited customers to a single carton per visit, but still ran out. Shoppers who did manage to find eggs in stock paid dearly — a dozen could sell for more than US$11. For many people, it was the first indication that the country was in the midst of a devastating bird-flu outbreak.
The H5N1 flu virus responsible for this outbreak hit poultry farms especially hard. The egg shortage and skyrocketing prices were the result of the loss of tens of millions of hens — the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires the destruction of poultry flocks that test positive for H5N1. Egg prices have now fallen. But US consumers could experience another shock if they buy a turkey for their Thanksgiving meal in late November. This year’s flock is the smallest in decades, partly due to bird flu. Some economists predict that turkey prices will be 40% higher this year than in 2024.