Speaker 1 (00:00):
This affects food prices, which obviously we've all observed that. If you've been to the grocery store, you've seen that.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
It's an outbreak farmers are forced to handle and you pay for. Good evening. I'm Brandon Merano.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
And I'm Karina Rubio. Avian Bird Flu has had a nationwide outbreak since 2022, but now officials are seeing a record climb in some key areas. WCIA 3's Jack Krumm is with us. Jack, how is this impacting people here in Illinois?
Speaker 4 (00:27):
Karina, although bird flu is not a food safety hazard, it is impacting consumers in other ways. As the debt toll on poultry climbs, so do the prices. The Poultry Science Association chimed in on how this disease spreads and how it's impacting farmers and consumers alike.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
One of those unfortunate consequences of this particular outbreak.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Bird flu is flying across the US, much to the dismay of farmers and shoppers. In the last quarter, 20 million egg laying chickens have died due to the virus or calling efforts to stop the spread.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
And this has certainly been one of the larger outbreaks that we've had over the several years that we've been combating this.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
Andy Vance is the executive director of the Poultry Science Association. He says The virus can be brought to farms by way of wild birds, equipment or even what's tracked in on a farmer's boot.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
What happens is, if there is a break on a farm, there is a very set process of what we'll call depopulation, so humane euthanasia for infected birds. To mitigate the spread of the virus to healthy populations, we want to stop the disease in its tracks, in other words,
Speaker 4 (01:38):
In total, it marks the worst toll inflicted on America's egg supply since the outbreak began. The impacts of the virus are deadly both to birds and budgets. The price for farm level eggs jumped 134% from December 2023 to December 2024, according to the USDA, and those prices have only continued going up.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
And that's basic supply and demand. Because of that process we talked about where we depopulate or engage in humane euthanasia for animals who are affected with the disease, that means we've had a smaller egg supply, that because we've had to cull those birds in a significant number of birds from the flock, there just simply aren't as many eggs being produced as there were.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Vance says, like every virus, bird flu spread ebbs and flows, so it'll take time for flocks to rise and prices to drop.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So we're working on trying to keep the birds healthy and safe. Also, of course, managing the food supply and addressing consumer concerns, keeping farm workers safe, it's a big process.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Vance also says he encourages consumers to trust in the US food supply and to remember farmers are feeling the change as well. Karina.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Jack, thank you. As we've told you, 20 million birds have died over the last three months in the US. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says it spent more than $1 billion dollars on payments to help reimburse poultry farmers since the outbreak started in 2022. And although egg prices have soared, the USDA says the combination of the virus, with inflation, could drive up egg prices by another 20% this year.