Here's What You Need to Know About Chickens and Eggs This Week

(It involves Brad Pitt.)

Chickens and eggs are at the center of many headlines for many different reasons. Below, the chicken and egg news you need to know:

1. Eggs are now more expensive than chickens

Chickens are officially cheaper protein source than their own eggs. The avian flu epidemic has crippled America's egg supply, killing off millions of egg-producing chickens. Egg prices have nearly doubled and according to Quartz, this is the first time on a "protein-per-dollar basis that chicken breasts" are cheaper than eggs. Due to this shortage, restaurants are being forced to raise their menu prices or eliminate egg dishes from their menus.

2. Greece also has an egg problem

The Greek financial crisis is particularly bad for the country's egg farmers. Since the banks shuttered June 29, business has gone down for egg farmers as much as 30 percent, writes the Washington Post. Many eggs are going unsold because people and supermarkets no longer have the credit or cash to buy eggs. Bakeries that are feeling the financial pinch often must choose between eggs and flour, and so, they choose flour. Plus, due to the country's capital controls (government imposed restrictions on spending), the egg farmers must do their business in cash, something most people currently do not have. Perhaps farmers should follow the lead of this Athens restaurant and start accepting Bitcoin.

3. Brad Pitt is upset with Costco and its eggs

Actor/winemaker Brad Pitt penned (or, well, emailed) a letter to Costco CEO Craig Jelink condemning the retailer for "its practice of selling caged bird eggs," notes Business Insider. In the letter, Pitt calls for the bulk store chain to stop its sale of factory-farmed eggs. Pitt writes: "Nearly a decade ago, Costco indicated that its next step on this issue would be creating a timeline for getting those cages out of your egg supply, and yet today, you appear to have made no progress at all." Costco promised in 2007 that it planned to stop selling eggs from caged hens. The actor further explains, that in the "cruel" cages, "animals' muscles and bones atrophy from years of immobilization." Fellow celebrities Ryan Gosling and Bill Maher are also calling for Costco to stop its practice.

from Eater - All http://ift.tt/1KhmhQq
via IFTTT