As U.S faces a shortage of eggs and high prices, Canada boasts of plentiful and affordable options with 14 different types to choose from

Egg Shortage in the US vs Abundance in Canada

US consumers are dealing with egg shortages and extra charges at restaurants such as Denny's and Waffle House, while Canadians have 14 varieties of eggs to choose from, reported NPR.

In America, the avian flu has killed tens of millions of egg-laying hens, resulting in severe shortages of eggs and driving prices to record highs. The crisis is so acute that some grocery stores have instituted limits on egg purchases, and chains of restaurants have had to add egg surcharges to menu items, reported NPR.

But in Canada, the egg business has not been affected by the flu. Mike von Massow, a food economist at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, said that, «We have not had any shortage of eggs,» as quoted by NPR. Massow said that, «We can choose from 14 different types of eggs,» as quoted by NPR.

Why Canada’s Egg Supply is Unaffected?

While Canadian chickens are also prone of catching avian flu, the illness hasn't caused nearly as much disruption as it has in America, as per the report.

Live Events

Von Massow attributes several reasons why Canada's egg supply has not been disturbed:

• Canada's colder weather keeps flu-spreading wild birds away from barns because farms are tightly sealed, reported NPR.
• Canadian egg farms are smaller in size compared to the US. So if one farm is affected by an outbreak, the impact is not as much, as per the report.

Massow explained that, the average egg farm in Canada contains approximately 25,000 laying hens, reported NPR. But he mentioned that, in the United States, a lot of farms contain more than a million hens, as per the report.

He said, «If individual farms represent a larger proportion of production, then when an individual farm is