Rising Egg Prices Threaten Easter And Passover Traditions
NEW YORK — Egg prices in the U.S. have surged in recent months due to several factors — and it can very well impact Christians and Jews across the United States this spring.
An avian flu outbreak led to the culling of 150 million chickens over the last two years, drastically reducing supply, while inflation has also caused prices to soar. Some have even accused sellers of price gauging and drug dealers are even smuggling them into the U.S. from Mexico. It even became a big campaign issue during last November’s presidential election.
Egg prices typically increase every spring as Easter nears, largely due to demand. However, already-high prices have caused many to forgo eggs altogether this Paschal season.
And it isn’t just Christians who are impacted by the high cost. Jews who are preparing to celebrate Passover look to eggs as a special part of their Seder meal. Not this time.
“Making Pesach is always daunting, but the thought of having to do it with this egg shortage seems terrifying,” Rachel Levine, a psychologist, mother of four and the wife of the rabbi at the Jewish Center, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in New York, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I usually buy at least 18 to 24 dozen eggs just for baking!”
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Prices sour a Seder tradition
Eggs are essential to Passover – which starts this year on April 12 – as a symbolic food on the seder plate and an important ingredient in food limited by the holiday’s strict restrictions on leavened food. The tradition, specifically during a seder, is tied to a variety of customs.
One main reason is that the egg represents both mourning and renewal — often placed on the Seder plate as a symbol of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, representing the mourning aspect of Passover, as Jews reflect on their historical suffering.
Passover and Easter come as the latest monthly consumer price index showed that the average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in U.S. cities has hot record highs. The USDA said the average egg price is now at $8.03 a dozen – up from a previous price of $7.74.
Karyn Rispoli, managing editor for eggs in the Americas for price-reporting service Expana, told Axios the egg market is "under severe pressure.”
In response, The Trump administration is planning a new strategy for fighting bird flu that stresses vaccinations and tighter biosecurity, instead of killing off millions of chickens when the disease strikes.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, meanwhile, wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed that the administration “will invest up to $1 billion to curb this crisis and make eggs affordable again.”
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Decorating takes a hit
Eggs have traditionally been associated with Easter because they symbolize new life and rebirth – a reminder of Jesus' resurrection. In pre-Christian times, eggs were a symbol of fertility and renewal.
Eggs were often forbidden during Lent, the 40-day period of fasting that culminates with Jesus’ death and resurrection. Like meat, they were considered a luxury food during the Middle Ages. As a result, eggs were stored during Lent and then eaten as a celebratory food once Easter arrived, marking the end of the fasting period and the joy of resurrection.
By the 17th century, eggs took on a deeper symbolic meaning when the practice of decorating and exchanging them spread throughout Europe. The concept of egg hunts, in which they are hidden for children to find, became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly in Britain and the United States.
Over time, the egg evolved into a more secular symbol of Easter, with colorful decorations and candy eggs becoming common during modern Easter celebrations. This year, makers of Easter egg dye kits are bracing for the potential fallout if the egg shortage doesn't begin to clear up by April 20.
Natural Earth Paint, a company that makes natural art supplies and craft kits for kids, typically sells between 40,000 and 50,000 egg dye kits around the Easter holiday, founder Leah Fanning told CNBC.
So far this year, the company's retail partners have ordered only 7,000 kits.
“It's definitely a huge drop," she said, noting that most buyers have cited the egg shortage for the smaller orders.
Paas, the leader in the U.S. when it comes to egg dye kits, said it expects some families will decorate fewer eggs this Easter, but added that many will continue to participate in the tradition.
Joe Ens, CEO of Signature Brands, which owns Paas. called decorating eggs “a sticky tradition.”
“And the reason for that, other than the tradition being so important to consumers,” he added, “is if you really break down the cost of the tradition, it is arguably the most affordable family tradition during any holiday.”
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged.