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An investigation into egg prices
'More hens, less income!' So said the United Egg Producers' economist Donald Bell in 1994. The industry has gotten more consolidated ever since. And avian flu is just the latest excuse to hike prices.
Headquartered a short car trip apart in Cuxhaven, Germany, and Boxmeer, Netherlands, these private firms have systematically gained control over the supply of egg-laying hens to American producers over the past two decades by buying out or suppressing rivals and challengers. After Wallace developed them, cross-breeding methods were shared with small breeders around the country through United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) extension offices at land grant colleges, which conducted basic research into the field and made breeding know-how and pure-bred stocks available to the public. Hybrid hens originating from the United States were soon introduced around the world, leading to a rapid expansion in global egg production—not to mention the explosion in cheap American diners dotting the new highway systems being built.
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