A shocking new report does not blame the national egg crisis of bird flu, but on 'greedy' companies that raised their prices long before an outbreak.
Among them is a single egg producer from Mississippi, who has taken billions from egg sales since 2023.
According to the new report from Food & Water Watch, the company-CAL-Maine-being prizes hunted prices, even before it was affected by the bird flu outbreak in December 2023.
The company sold 7 percent more eggs in the financial year 2022-23 than in 2021-2022.
But because it raised the prices and an extra $ 1 discount sold on every dozen, profits have been collected, the profit jumped seven times to $ 1.2 billion that year, the report says.
“Cal-Maine Fleecde $ 1 billion in extra profit from its customer-free retailers, who often pass on prize peaks to families,” says the report.
The shareholders of Cal-Maine mainly benefited. The shares of the company are today about three times as valuable as at the start of the outbreak of bird flu. '
Researchers call this “outrageous at a time when the food costs shoot up and more families than ever can't go on the table.”
Shoppers can thank greedy egg producers for increasing prices, not bird flu, says a report
Researchers have blamed the Mississippi-based CAL-Maine for determining prices. It is run by Sherman Miller
This sheds an unflattering light on the $ 1.1 million a year CEO of the company, Sherman Miller, who has been with Cal-Maine since 1996, and the chairman of the board Adolphus Baker.
Cal-Maine has not answered the request from DailyMail.com for comments.
The company seems to have not tackled the claims in a press release or on social media.
In public archives, Miller has attributed price increases to deliver shocks caused by a 'very pathogenic Aviaire influenza'.
The report gives a new twist to rising egg prices, which doubled almost a year ago, a fact that has usually blamed for a virus that has wiped out millions of chickens.
It suggests that although the outbreak of Vogelslup has somewhat impeded production, it can in no way explain the devastating increase of 157 percent of egg prices throughout America.
They cost more than $ 10 per dozen in some stores and are missing in others. Shoppers can grab a box -face sticker shock for what was once a cheap protein source.
Civil servants seem to take a bill. The US Department of Justice opened an investigation this week into the cause of rising egg prices, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The probe will assess Whether large producers have collaborated to increase prices or to stop the offer, according to people who are familiar with the issue.
The economic costs of food monopolies mentioned: the rotten egg -oligarchy, the report noted that bird flu only did not take into account the inflation of the egg price of 157 percent, because it has only reached production somewhat.
Eggs cost more than $ 10 per dozen in some parts of the US, although the national average is closer to $ 5
Cal-Maine usually works in areas that were not affected by outbreaks of bird flu, said researchers
With headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, Cal-Maine has facilities in 15 states and sells to Walmart, Costco and others
Cal-Maine stuffs a million chickens in each of the 43 production centers, which are usually in the south
Researchers point to Cal-Maine, which produces 20 percent of the eggs that opened throughout America, along with others about nine other large producers and some retailers in the highly concentrated sector.
“The less and larger the companies in an industry, the more power these companies have to influence things such as working conditions, agricultural practices and prices,” says the report.
Cal-Maine stuffs a million chickens in each of its 43 production centers, which are usually located in the south-a factory building approach that increases the risk of illness and future pathogens, the study adds.
It is not the first time that Cal-Maine, one of the few large egg producers reporting on his financial data, stands in the spotlight for alleged prices.
Cal-Maine was accused of price dependence by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren at the start of the Aviaire Flu in 2022. At the time, the company did not answer Reuters requests for comment.
The following year Cal-Maine and three other egg producers were instructed to pay $ 17.7 million compensation by a federal jury to Kraft Foods and other companies because of conspiracy to limit the production of eggs.
In a statement at the time, Cal-Maine said that it was 'disappointed about the general decision', but noted that the company had 'predominantly about a number of issues'.
“About 20 years ago, Cal-Maine Foods responded together with many other fresh egg producers in the US to the growing requirements of consumers and retailers to improve the overall treatment of egg chickens,” said the statement.
This was 'in accordance with other prevailing animal welfare laws in the protein industry and were not intended to limit the offer and to influence prices', it adds.
Another interest group, Farm Action, which lobbys on behalf of smaller farmers, consumers and rural communities, also suspects monopolistic behavior.
The group that notes that egg production has only fallen around 4 percent compared to last year and about 7.57 billion eggs were produced in January, but some consumers still find eggplanks empty in supermarkets.
Farm promotion pointed to Cal-Maine and other egg producers as responsible for the price increases.
Advocacy, democratic legislators and member of the Federal Trade Committee recently called for a government investigation after the egg prices had a record average of $ 4.95 per dozen at the end of last month.
Bird flu is a good reason to shop for organic free -designed eggs, which are more costs healthier, say researchers
The company's profit rose in the financial year 2023, on what would be a difficult time for the industry
Some egg shoppers are left empty -handed when they check out in their supermarket
Cal-Maine's $ 1.1 million a year CEO, Sherman Miller (left), met last year with the Kansas Tracey Mann Congressman
Retail -Seierprijs generally remained for years below $ 2 per dozen years before it started outbreak.
The prices have since more than doubled, which increases the profit for egg producers, even if they deal with increasing costs.
Experts usually blame bird flu. More than 166 million birds are gender to contain the virus.
Since January, around 30 million egg layers have been wiped out, which considerably disrupts the egg supplies.
The long -term policy of the Ministry of Agriculture has been to kill entire herds when the virus is found on a farm.
As a result, the number of egg layers has fallen nationally by around 12 percent from before the outbreak to 292 million birds, according to a USDA estimate on 1 February.
Millions more have been killed since then.
The reports come when President Donald Trump is under pressure to reduce his promise to lower the prizes, even he has the rates that look again to touch consumers.
Business greed has become a hot-button issue in recent years.
This was vividly demonstrated by the widespread support for a 'civil guard' scorer who would have accused and killed the CEO of health insurance in New York in New York in December in December; He has not argued guilty.
