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Charted: U.S. Egg Prices More Than Double in 2022

by Pallavi Rao
This post is by Pallavi Rao from Visual Capitalist

This chart shows the increase in the national average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in the U.S. in 2022

Charted: U.S. Egg Prices Double in 2022

Eggs are a staple food for many countries around the world, and the U.S. is no exception. Americans eat between 250‒280 eggs a year on average.

Eggs are also easy to cook, protein-dense and supply many daily vitamins needed for healthy living, making them a popular meal or ingredient. So when egg prices rise, people notice.

MetalytIQ charted the rapid rise of egg prices in the U.S. during 2022, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS).

Eggs-asperating Prices

Over the course of 12 months, the national average price for a dozen large Grade A eggs more than doubled, to $4.25 in December from $1.93 in January.

Egg Prices Per Month (2022)Price per dozen
January$1.30
February$2.10
March$2.50
April$2.52
May$2.86
June$2.71
July$2.94
August$3.12
September$2.90
October$3.42
November$3.59
December$4.25

The biggest culprit has been an avian flu outbreak that resulted in 43 million chickens culled to prevent the spread of the disease.

This led to a severe shortfall in egg supply. Egg inventories in December had fallen by one-third compared to January. Combined with increasing demand during the holiday season, prices skyrocketed and empty shelves became apparent in some states.

This is not the first time avian flu has disrupted the industry.. In 2015, a similar outbreak pushed egg prices up 40% in nine months, reaching a high of $2.97 per dozen eggs in September (Read more...)

The Enormous Scale of America’s Food Waste

by Sponsored Content

The following content is sponsored by Global X ETFs.

 

Global X KROP ETF

The Briefing

  • 80 billion pounds of food are wasted every year in the U.S.
  • The majority of waste is created by households and retailers

The Enormous Scale of America’s Food Waste

Every year, 30% to 40% of food produced in the U.S. is either lost or wasted.

This waste occurs throughout the entire supply chain, though the majority of it occurs in downstream channels like households and retailers. Overall, 80 billion pounds of food is wasted each year, representing 242 pounds of food per person.

In this graphic sponsored by Global X ETFs, we highlight some of the most alarming facts regarding food waste in America.

Tracking Food Waste

The following table, using data from Recycle Track Systems (RTS), breaks down the sources of America’s food waste.

CategoryPercentage of total waste (%)
Households43%
Restaurants, grocery stores, food service companies40%
Farms16%
Manufacturers2%

Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.

Surprisingly, households are the biggest source of food waste. One reason for this is people’s habit of overbuying, which naturally leads to large amounts of food going bad.

Another culprit is the lack of standardized packaging—it’s estimated that over 80% of Americans discard edible food because they misunderstand the expiration labels. Consumers should note that such labels are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The second biggest component of food waste is retailers such as grocery stores. According to the (Read more...)