In recent months, I’ve started playing a new game of luck before every trip to my local supermarket. It’s called “Will I Purchase Some Eggs Today?” On a good day, I’ll get my hands on one carton. On a bad day — which has become quite frequent as of late — I’ll walk out without a single carton in tow.

Indeed, America is in the middle of an egg shortage, as CNN reported in January. The sight of empty refrigerator shelves is a reminder of a dystopic reality in which baking, enjoying breakfast or making fried rice is no longer a possibility — or comes with a hefty price.

The cost of eggs has been on the rise since 2022, when U.S. officials confirmed a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza (H5N1) in a commercial flock. Last June, a flock of approximately 103,000 turkeys in Cherokee County, Iowa, was reportedly infected with bird flu, per the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Another outbreak was reported amongst a flock of about 4.2 million egg-laying chickens in Sioux County, Iowa. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that over 20 million egg-laying chickens in the U.S. died last quarter due to bird flu, proving that the outbreak remains relentless.

“Unlike in past years, in 2024,........

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