Despite worries about egg costs and supply constraints brought on by avian flu in recent months, the White House’s traditional custom of rolling Easter eggs across the South Lawn is anticipated to continue this year.
However, American egg producers have differing opinions about this move.
“They were saying that for Easter ‘please don’t use eggs. Could you use plastic eggs?’ I say we don’t want to do that. I say we don’t want to do that,” Speaking on Wednesday to announce his additional tariffs, President Donald Trump stated.
An inquiry concerning who was advising him against using genuine eggs was not answered by the White House.
According to the American Egg Board, the Easter Egg Roll, which is set for April 21, will include 30,000 eggs for White House visitors to decorate and utilize in games.
For years, the industry association has relied on donations from farms all throughout the nation to supply the eggs for the event.
According to a person involved with the preparations, the board discussed internally multiple times the optics of supplying tens of thousands of eggs for the Easter Egg Roll considering the hardship egg farmers have had, but ultimately chose to furnish the event as normal.
The Easter Egg Roll, scheduled for April 21, will feature 30,000 eggs for White House guests to paint and use in games, according to the American Egg Board.
To provide the eggs for the event, the industry organization has been depending on donations from farms around the country for years.
A person with knowledge of the planning said that the board repeatedly debated within the logistics of providing tens of thousands of eggs for the Easter Egg Roll in light of the difficulties faced by egg producers, but ultimately decided to supply the event normally.
“The heart of this event is about bringing joy to children and families, and in these difficult times for egg farmers, it’s important to celebrate wherever we can,” Metz stated.
There are egg growers who concur.
Marty Thomas, a co-owner of Kakadoodle Egg Farm, which lost its 3,000-hen flock to avian flu in January and is unable to provide eggs, stated, “I don’t think that they should use fake eggs for it.”
“And it’s not like they’re using millions of eggs for this egg roll. It’s a fun thing,” he continued.
However, due to months of a shortfall in supply, Vanessa Frias, the owner and chief farmer of Willowbrook Farms in Michigan, stated that she does not believe the White House should use actual eggs this year.
“Those eggs need to go in people’s bellies, and it needs to feed our families here in the United States, not to be played with,” she stated.
According to Frias, her farm has thousands of meat hens and roughly 500 egg layers, all of which are immune to bird flu.
She stated that she anticipates more demand for her farm during the spring market season due to the egg shortage.
According to someone with knowledge of the White House’s planning, actual eggs will be used in the event. According to a second source with knowledge of White House event planning, the Egg Board has also been adamant on using actual eggs.
The Agriculture Department reports that since the outbreak began in February 2022, 168 million birds nationwide have been afflicted by bird flu.
The outbreak has led to a short supply of hens, contributing to higher egg prices.
People all around the nation have been impacted by egg shortages and high costs for months, but prices have decreased recently even if they are still higher than usual.
The Agriculture Department reports that the average price of a dozen big white eggs has dropped to $3 from an all-time high of $8.64 on March 5.
This year’s Easter Egg Roll will have 2,500 dozen eggs, which is the same amount as in years past.
According to the American Egg Board, farmers might provide even more eggs to the White House for use as ingredients in the meals it serves during the celebration.
The Trump administration has attempted to address the availability and cost of eggs.
According to Thomas, Kakadoodle Egg Farm is able to continue operating its online farmers market service with the Agriculture Department’s approval, collaborating with other small producers while it waits for the quarantine to finish and rebuild its flock.
The Egg Board began a program during President Joe Biden’s administration whereby egg farmers donate one egg to their local food bank for each egg they donate to the White House, according to Wayne Skinner, a former director of the White House Visitors Office who organized the Easter Egg Rolls for several presidencies.
Those who have contributed to food banks include Kevin Graham and Dragan Kurbalija, who run a 27-acre farm in northern Virginia; they have not contributed to the White House Easter Egg Roll.
Due to escalating demand, Kurbalija and Graham, who have amassed over 82,000 TikTok followers under the handle “Gardening Gays,” were forced to raise the price of their eggs for the first time.
However, farmers “shouldn’t fall back from our traditions and then our goodwill of donating stuff,” Kurbalija stated.
This information has been sourced from NBC News.
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