In its second year, Avian Influenza has wrecked the U.S. poultry industry and caused egg prices to rise sharply. A month into a new presidential term, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has been given $1 billion to get the problem under control.

Hundreds of millions fewer chickens mean expensive eggs, and poor people who suffered through 44% food inflation were counting on lower prices.

It won't be fixed right away, but devastated farmers can get up to $400 million in the new plan, $100 million will go toward vaccines, while biosecurity measures are getting the bulk of funding, so farmers won't have to pay those costs. They say they will reduce import restrictions (some countries don't wash eggs, making them illegal for sale in the United States) and reduce regulatory burdens. California has egg prices 60% higher than the rest of the country and that is more due to regulatory creep over the last decade than coastal farmers who won't use medicine because wealthy customers on the coast don't trust science. 

In the short term, there are three action items individuals can take: 

1. Do not buy raw milk. Lack of pasteurization allows the virus to spread

2. Do not buy products related to chicken that touts it uses no medication.

3.Do not buy "raw" pet food. Over 50% of cats die after they receive the virus due to raw pet food.


It does not matter if Natural Resources Defense Council claims all of the above are "mainstream" beliefs of the public because their lawyers or anyone else in government feels that way. It is dangerous and USDA knows it.