Is US egg shortage Biden’s fault, as Trump spokesperson claims?

President Donald Trump promised to little prices for groceries, including eggs. But 1 ace successful his program is that ovum prices haven’t fallen since helium took bureau connected January 20.

White House property caput Karoline Leavitt, successful her archetypal on-camera quality briefing connected January 28, blamed that connected erstwhile President Joe Biden’s “inflationary policies”.

Leavitt said the Biden medication and the US Agriculture Department “directed the wide sidesplitting of much than 100 cardinal chickens, which has led to a deficiency of chickenhearted proviso successful this country, truthful a deficiency of ovum supply, which is starring to the shortage”.

Leavitt’s connection is partially close astir the culling of millions of chickens, but she omitted important details and discourse astir wherefore that happened.

First, the chickens were killed to forestall the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, oregon bird flu.

Second, it’s been longstanding USDA argumentation to cull an full flock of birds erstwhile vertebrate flu has been detected, including during Trump’s archetypal administration.

White House lawman property caput Anna Kelly referred PolitiFact backmost to Leavitt’s quality briefing comments.

Egg prices roseate nether Biden – from $1.60 per twelve successful February 2021 to $4.10 successful December 2024 (his archetypal and past afloat months successful office), Bureau of Labor Statistics information shows. The Agriculture Department’s January food terms outlook said ovum prices could emergence astir 20 percent much this year.

A spokesperson for Expana, a institution that tracks user prices, told quality outlet Axios that a twelve ample eggs costs much than $7 successful immoderate US regions.

Since February 8, 2022, erstwhile the microorganism was detected successful a commercialized flock, much than 147 cardinal birds, including chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, person died, the USDA said.

USDA information shows 108 cardinal egg-laying chickens died since 2022, including 13 cardinal successful 2025. It’s not wide however galore were euthanised oregon died of the virus.

As of January 29, vertebrate flu has besides been detected successful dairy cattle, affecting 944 herds successful 16 states, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information shows. Humans person besides tested affirmative for the microorganism – 67 confirmed cases person been reported successful the US and 1 idiosyncratic has died, the CDC said.

Why are flocks culled?

Experts told PolitiFact the birds are culled to halt the microorganism from spreading. This protects not lone adjacent farms and the poultry industry, but nationalist health. A 2002 national law, the Animal Health Protection Act, gives the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service authorization to depopulate herds and flocks to halt the disease’s spread.

“If the birds are dead, the microorganism dies on with them,” Russ Daly, a veterinarian for the South Dakota Department of Health and a South Dakota State University professor, said.

Chickens that declaration the vertebrate flu microorganism person small accidental of survival; 90 percent to 100 percent percent of them die, usually wrong 48 hours, the CDC said.

Waiting for the chickens to dice people allows much viral load into the atmosphere, making it much unsafe for the workplace workers and different radical who travel successful interaction with the farm, Jada Thompson, a University of Arkansas cultivation economics and agribusiness subordinate professor, said.

Red Star chickens provender successful their coop connected January 10, 2023, astatine Historic Wagner Farm successful Glenview, Illinois. A vertebrate flu outbreak astatine the clip led to the slaughter of tens of millions of birds to bounds the dispersed of the microorganism [File: Erin Hooley/AP]

Is this argumentation new?

Several veterinary professors told PolitiFact that depopulation oregon “stamping out” of sick birds is simply a longstanding argumentation and pointed to a 2015 vertebrate flu outbreak during the Obama administration.

Depopulation is the USDA’s superior power and eradication strategy for avian influenza, Yuko Sato, a veterinarian and Iowa State University subordinate professor, said.

“This latest outbreak is devastating due to the fact that of the ample numbers of premises progressive since 2022,” Carol Cardona, a University of Minnesota veterinary prof and seat of avian health, said. “But the regularisation has been determination for a precise agelong clip now.”

A 2016 USDA study shows that depopulation successful 2015 resulted successful 50 cardinal birds being killed.

A USDA vertebrate flu response plan, updated successful May 2017 during Trump’s archetypal administration, incorporates argumentation guidance based connected lessons from influenza outbreaks during the Obama and archetypal Trump administrations. It said: “Rapid depopulation of infected poultry is captious to halt microorganism transmission and indispensable beryllium prioritised.”

During a March 2017 vertebrate flu outbreak, a USDA study said, “nearly 253,000 birds were depopulated.”

How does depopulation work?

The USDA encourages farmers who announcement signs of unwellness to interaction the USDA oregon their authorities veterinarian. Samples taken from the animals are tested and the USDA confirms cases; depopulation usually takes spot wrong 48 hours of the virus’s confirmation.

The USDA pays the farmers for the killed birds.

“It’s successful the champion involvement of the husbandman to get this done quickly, arsenic the USDA provides indemnity payments for the euthanised birds, but not the ones that dice naturally,” Daly said.

Our ruling

Leavitt said there’s an ovum shortage due to the fact that the Biden medication “directed the wide sidesplitting of much than 100 cardinal chickens”.

During the Biden administration, much than 100 cardinal egg-laying chickens died from vertebrate flu oregon were killed to halt the virus’ spread. This led to an ovum shortage and higher prices.

Depopulation is simply a longstanding signifier to forestall vertebrate flu from spreading, agriculture experts said. Government documents amusement depopulation was the USDA’s vertebrate flu strategy during Trump’s archetypal word and during the 2015 outbreak nether Obama.

Leavitt’s connection is partially close but leaves retired important details and context. We complaint it Half True.