New Data Shows Food Shortages Could Be Coming, In My Opinion

Does anyone else wonder why the avian illness is only affecting major components of our food system? Why is it only fowl intended to keep store shelves full and protein in our bellies being destroyed at historic rates? 58 million birds have been infected this year alone, the most so far in U.S. history. And now it's affecting cows, cats, and a handful of factory workers?

When a flock becomes infected with the avian illness, under current practices, they have to be euthanized. All of them. This is and will cause egg supplies to fall and prices to surge. Stores are running out and starting to put limits on how many you can buy.

Birds a plentyPhoto byRichelleg/canva

This article is in my opinion, as a writer and a farmer, with my ear to the ground. The info and links are given so you can do your own research and form your own opinion.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that since the outbreak started in 2022, 100 million laying and meat birds have been destroyed.

Yes, when you have millions of chickens crammed into a building, illness happens. Heck, illness happens in small backyard flocks with birds that free range in the sunshine.

Egg layersPhoto byRichelleg/canva

Then why, besides the AV, are major chicken factories and producers also catching fire? According to the Animal Welfare Institute, over a million farm animals have been lost to barn fires in 2024. This number includes all sorts of animals, but the majority are chickens and turkeys. Again, yes, if a building catches fire and it's packed full of birds versus cows, the total loss number will be higher simply because there's more animals (chickens) in a barn than you can fit cows. I understand that.

A huge hit to the food system, Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., a Ridgeland, Mississippi-based company, said in a statement that after the avian influenza virus was discovered at a facility in Parmer County, Texas, over 1.8 million laying hens and 400,000 pullets, or roughly 4% of its whole flock, were destroyed.

Meat birdsPhoto byRichelleg/canva

Cal-Maine is the largest supplier of eggs in the Southwestern, Southeastern, Midwestern, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the US. It's not just Texas for Cal-Maine, it's also a factory in Michigan that's had a major outbreak.

To stop avian illness from getting worse, the US will purchase and push vaccines for farmworkers.

Cal-Maine made its disclosure the day after state health officials said that there is still little risk to the public and that a person had been diagnosed with the avian influenza virus after coming into contact with cows thought to be sick. According to federal health officials, the Texas case represents the first instance of avian influenza virus transmission from a mammal to humans worldwide.

What can you do?

If you are able, think about having your own small backyard flock. Remove yourself from the broken food system. If you can't do that, think about supporting your local farms and buying their farm fresh eggs. There are ways to preserve farm-fresh food, such as lime, pickling, and even freezing, that you can learn about to help supplement real and delicious food when there are shortages.

Citations:

Miller, K. (2024, April 3). Largest fresh egg producer in the US has found bird flu at Texas, Michigan plants | AP News. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/bird-flu-texas-mississippi-chickens-dbae49f8786dda586036c1b86b9d0997

2024 Barn Fire Statistics By State. (n.d.). Animal Welfare Institute. https://awionline.org/content/2024-barn-fire-statistics-state

H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation. (2024, August 2). Avian Influenza (Bird Flu). https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html