As if breakfast needed a bigger price tag, egg prices are set to skyrocket by 41% in 2025, thanks to a combination of avian flu and unprecedented demand for cage-free options scrambling our wallets.

This impending egg price hike, projected by the USDA as a result of avian flu decimating flocks and an explosion in cage-free demand, is poised to leave consumers scrambling for their wallets. With prices already nearly double what they were last year, your omelette may soon require a second mortgage, even as Denny’s and Waffle House impose egg surcharges to keep up. While the USDA tries to crack the code on lowering costs—investing $1 billion to fight both the virus and rising prices—it seems breakfast will remain an expensive affair for the foreseeable future.

The average cost of a dozen eggs in January was a staggering $4.95, and if you were hoping the price would drop, brace for impact. For perspective, that price is nearly double what you would have paid just one year earlier. It appears that breakfast foods are not just rising in popularity but also in price, making it even harder to justify putting all those sunny-side-up eggs on your plate without checking your bank balance first.

The situation has not been helped by the alarming fact that over 166 million birds have been affected by the avian flu since 2022. This contagion has led to significant losses in egg-laying hen populations, contributing to higher prices at the checkout. You might think a support group for these poor hens is on the horizon, but alas, no one seems to be raising their wings in protest.

As the phenomenon of dwindling egg supplies continues, so too does the rising cost of breakfast staples. In January 2025 alone, retail egg prices increased by 13.8% following an 8.4% spike in December 2024, making the scramble to find reasonable breakfast options even more urgent. If inflation had a mascot, it could be an egg laying flat out on the pavement, basking dispassionately in the sunlight while prices continue to rise.

In light of the ongoing crisis, Denny’s and Waffle House have jumped on the bandwagon, introducing surcharges on meals that include eggs. Expect your beloved Grand Slam to come with a financial warning; the eggs are now officially more valuable than gold. If you’re trying to save a few bucks for breakfast, you might want to consider expanding your palate beyond the egg-centric items on the menu.

As consumers adapt to the eggfitation, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins offered a glimmer of hope—though with a timeline that suggests a scrumptious breakfast may still be several months away. Rollins conveyed that relief from the soaring prices will not happen instantly; it may take anywhere from three to six months for any respite to arrive. In the meantime, we suggest learning how to enjoy your toast sans eggs or sticking to the occasional pancake.

The USDA is taking further steps to manage the crisis, proposing biosecurity measures such as limiting the movement of wild birds that unknowingly spread avian flu to farms. Keeping wild birds away from poultry farms sounds straightforward, but given how elusive they can be, this might turn into an ongoing game of poultry 'whack-a-mole.' We'll need to check back in on that initiative next season, perhaps with a dedicated reality show centered around capturing those sneaky avian intruders.

In more proactive measures, the USDA plans to explore temporary import options for eggs to stabilize prices. So while your local farmer’s market might feel like a no-go zone for eggs anytime soon, your supermarket may find a way to keep the shelves stocked—assuming they can navigate the labyrinth of international tariff agreements without breaking a few eggs of their own in the process.

Alongside these egg-cellent adventures in price maintenance, we must consider that the soaring cost of eggs is part of a larger trend. Retail prices for beef, pork, and fresh fruit are also expected to see increases in 2025. It seems that our entire grocery bill is preparing for a seismic shift, leaving us to wonder if we should just invest in a cash cow—or better yet, a cash hen—instead of frequenting local grocery stores. So, as we wait for the egg market to stabilize, in the meantime, you might as well enjoy those fancy egg-benedicts while you still can afford them. Just keep an eye on your wallet, because with the current situation, it might be more beneficial to nurture a relationship with a hen than to keep passing by the egg aisle on your weekly trips to the store. Breakfast is changing, and it seems like we’re all just along for the ride.