What is the value of an egg?

Day 262 of 365

Because everyone is talking about the prices for eggs right now, I have been thinking more deeply about why I think eggs are so precious and important. I have always felt rich when we have lots of eggs in the spring. I am so grateful for them. I have also seen that eggs at the grocery store have historically been far too cheap. Too many animals are abused for those eggs.

Of course, I also realize how devastating it is to people for eggs to suddenly be so expensive (and the poor animals are still being abused even at these prices), and of course, it’s not just eggs. The eggs are just symbolic and one of those things that almost all of us eat. So eggs being so expensive right now seems to be especially hard on people mentally, not just financially. My friends and family are gravely concerned about how expensive food has become, and the eggs feel like they might be a canary–at least I speculate this.

Yesterday, for the first time in many, many months, I went into a grocery store. I just always do a grocery pick up. I mean, I hated going to the grocery store before the pandemic. I am thankful beyond words for grocery pick up. But I just needed to get coffee from a particular store and decided to run in. While I was in there, I thought I would check to just make sure they still had some of the staples we use in stock. I checked the organic flour. It was out. I checked for frozen peas. They were out. The store had olive oil and Ron’s coffee and ice cream, but these things were definitely expensive. While I was in the coffee section, I overheard a man talking to what I perceived to be his parents.

He said, “Two months ago, this would have cost me $70, and now this is going to be $130.” And then he added in a really sad, frustrated, almost angry tone, “I just want to scream at people.”

This was heartbreaking to me and has stayed with me–and makes me wonder about how we are all doing.