Unless you've been living under a rock, you've seen or heard the news: Egg prices are skyrocketing. And that's making egg-based foods more expensive, including a New York breakfast staple.
What's happening?
Hop into any New York bodega, and you can get the quintessential city breakfast: a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Typically featuring two eggs, bacon, and American cheese on a roll, the sandwich is known for being hot, filling, delicious, and inexpensive.
But as an avian flu outbreak continues to create egg shortages across America, that sandwich is costing more and more.
Spectrum News NY1 reported that bodega owners are paying two to three times as much as normal for a case of eggs, and those costs are necessarily being passed onto consumers. One bodega owner told Spectrum News that he needed to raise the price of his "BEC" sandwich from $4.50 to $6 — a 33% increase.
"I feel the pain for everybody," another owner said. "The point is, we have no choice, in order to keep a business running. We need to make money. And that's the only way."
Even if you don't live in New York, your breakfast is likely costlier because of the shortage. Waffle House, for example, has instituted a surcharge of 50 cents on every egg.
Why do rising food prices matter?
Eggs aren't the only food increasing in price, and that's largely because of environmental issues.
Rising temperatures make farming more difficult and unpredictable worldwide. As droughts and heat waves become more commonplace, crops can be more difficult to grow, and the resulting yields can be more damaged. And as agricultural supply dwindles, prices go up.
Simply because of climate change, some experts expect grocery bills to rise by more than 3% each year.
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Not enough time ⏳ What can I do about egg prices?
Unless you live in an area where you can raise your own chickens and have eggs fresh from your backyard, there's likely not much you can do to change the cost of eggs.
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What you can do, however, is consider egg alternatives in any recipe, as The Cool Down has previously covered. Not only are many of these options cheaper than eggs, but the production of these alternatives may create less pollution than the egg industry. They can also make meals more allergen-friendly.
Among the popular alternatives to replace one egg:
Flaxseeds: Mix 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of water and let sit for five minutes.
Chia seeds: Use the same ratio as with flaxseeds but let sit for at least 10 minutes before use.
Aquafaba: Whip up the liquid from a can of chickpeas and use 3 tablespoons of that mixture.
Fruit: When baking, use 3 tablespoons of applesauce or one medium banana.
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