The real crisis isn’t the rising cost of eggs, it’s the horrific reality that billions of chickens spend their short, miserable lives crammed into factory farms, which serve as breeding grounds for disease. They are subjected to extreme crowding, confinement, abuse and ultimately brutal slaughter.

Now, with the spread of avian flu, millions more are being killed to prevent outbreaks, exposing the fragility and cruelty of our food system. Adding to the injustice, factory farms receive taxpayer-funded subsidies to replace the very birds they kill, ensuring this brutal cycle continues. Instead of using public money to prop up this broken system, we should invest in sustainable and humane alternatives — such as plant-based and cultivated meat — and transition away from factory farming altogether. We must demand change, both as consumers and as citizens. Supporting businesses that prioritize ethical and sustainable food sources and reducing our reliance on animal products can help break this cycle of cruelty, waste and taxpayer burden. The good news is that alternatives already exist. “Just Egg” makes a great scramble, and there are countless tofu scramble and egg-free baking recipes available online. Eggs are not a necessity. The rising cost of eggs should be a wake-up call — not just about prices but about the true cost of factory farming to animals, public health and taxpayers. It’s time to rethink our food choices.

Linda Dionne

Raymond