The Blue state outlaws most eggs unless they are cage-free, before the new year
Almost all eggs sold in Michigan since before the New Year must come from cage-free birds, even as egg prices continue to rise.
Michigan lawmakers amended the Animal Industry Act in 2019, which requires shell eggs from chickens, ducks and other birds sold in the state to move from cage-free housing programs, effective December 31, 2024.
However, the new law does not apply to the sale of shell eggs produced on a farm with hens that lay fewer than 3,000 eggs, nor does it apply to liquid or cooked eggs.
But for those affected farms, the law prohibits business owners from selling eggs from laying hens if care cannot be provided while standing on the poultry farm.
ACTUAL LEVELS ARE HIGH AND WILL CONTINUE INTO 2025
This law also states that chickens must not be chained or tied in a way that prevents them from lying down, standing up, stretching their limbs or turning around freely.
Most of the guidelines for cage-free eggs were established in the United Egg Producers 2017 regulations, which set standards for how much space must be provided for eggs to qualify as cage-free.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the new law.
HERE ARE ACTUALLY GROCERS RAISING PRICES
This news comes as egg prices continue to rise, and industry experts predict that these high costs will continue until 2025, especially if the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), also known as “bird flu”, continues.
Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute Sector Manager Kevin Bergquist said egg prices have increased since 2023 due to a combination of seasonal price increases during the holidays and egg supply disruptions due to bird flu.
Last year’s prices “generally” remain above 2023 prices and “often exceed egg prices from 2022, which is when the HPAI took hold of the egg market,” according to Bergquist.
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Supermarket egg prices, which jumped nearly 55% in November, do not reflect consumer egg prices at the grocery store, which can vary widely.
According to the Consumer Price Index, grocery prices rose 0.5% in November, with four of the 6 largest food groups increasing in cost. Eggs showed a large increase in the wide range.
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Meat, poultry, fish and egg prices rose 1.7% in November, but egg prices rose 8.2%.
Daniella Genovese of FOX Business contributed to this report.
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