When both my picky kids discovered they loved eggs, it was a blessed relief for meal planning. After years of trying to find dinners that everyone was happy to eat, my kids affinity for eggs added quiche, frittatas, and omelets to our cooking repertoire. We now go through two dozen eggs a week at chez Guy Birken. Which means I have personally been paying very close attention to spiking egg prices. My local grocery store is selling a dozen eggs for $5.99more than two times the price of eggs as of March 2024. If youve been wondering why you need a second mortgage to afford your breakfast, heres what you need to know about this price eggsplosion.Supply and demandEven if you slept through your Econ 101 class, you probably remember the law of supply and demand: When supply is low and/or demand is high, prices increase.In the case of the humble chicken egg, supply is down because of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), aka the bird flu, while demand has remained the same, resulting in higher prices.Avian fluSince 2022, over 166 million birds have come down with this harmless-sounding malady, and over three-quarters of the affected birds are egg-laying hens. Millions of chickens have died and millions more have been culled to prevent the spread of this very contagious disease. The loss of so many chickens means there is a smaller supply of eggs, which has pushed up the price.Bird flu may be the primary driver of the eye-watering prices of a dozen eggs, but its not the only one. Garden-variety inflation has also affected the price of eggs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the unadjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 2.8% for the year ending February 2025. This may not sound like muchand it is only 0.8% higher than the Feds goal of 2% inflationbut it does have an effect on the cost of getting an egg from a hen to a dairy aisle when everything from chicken feed to gasoline is more expensive.Inelastic demandWhen prices for many goods go up, many consumers will substitute a different product. For example, if beef prices suddenly skyrocketed, a lot of shoppers would buy pork, chicken, or tofu instead. This is known as elasticity of demand and it helps keep prices somewhat stable.(Elasticity of demand is also why grocery prices tend to go up much more slowly than healthcare prices, since its easy to substitute one protein for another and impossible to substitute one prescription drug for another.)But eggs are an inelastic product. Even when their prices spike, people still buy about the same number of eggs. There are not many appropriate substitutes for eggs in applications like baking, and eggs offer a relatively low-cost source of healthy protein, even when prices rise.Since consumers continue to purchase eggs at about the same rate they always did, prices wont go down until the supply returns to previous levels.Will egg prices keep rising?Like many consumers, I have simply been paying the higher prices for eggs on the assumption that what goes up must eventually come down. Thats how its gone for every previous price spike Ive lived through.But that is not necessarily what will happen this time around. This version of the avian flu appears to be more virulent and tenacious than other strains of the disease. The 20142015 bird flu outbreak disappeared after about a year, since hot weather helped kill off the virus. The current outbreak has been affecting our nations birds since 2022 and the change of seasons has not had a noticeable effect on ending the virusso we may yet see scrambled eggs become a status symbol.Of course, no economist, journalist, or farmer has a crystal ball. There is no way to know for sure where egg prices are headedand its not like we can stockpile eggs to prepare.Finding cheaper eggs (or egg substitutes)There are a number of options available to shoppers to keep eggs from destroying their grocery budget. (Please note: despite the current administrations recommendation, raising backyard chickens is not feasible for most peopleand introducing a heap of inexperienced urban farmers to the joys of backyard poultry could prolong the avian flu outbreak.)To start, check the local egg prices at the Pantry & Larder site Eggspensive. This site tracks the cost of a dozen eggs at every Walmart location nationwide. The Krazy Coupon Ladys egg price comparison and egg coupons can also help you get the lowest possible price.You can also work around your egg needs for many recipes. While egg substitutes in baking are never quite perfect, using ingredients like applesauce, Greek yogurt, mashed banana, aquafaba, or vinegar + baking soda can re-create some of the specific properties eggs add to your favorite baked goods.And dont forget that vegans like baked goods, too. (If you havent tried vegan baking since you broke your tooth on a carob-chip cookie in the 1980s, youll be delighted to learn that its come a long way.) Vegan bakers have come up with a number of delicious recipes that dont require any eggs or egg substitutes.Dealing with eggstreme pricesThe price of eggs often works as a political shorthand to describe the kitchen table economic worries of the average person. But since last fall, theres nothing metaphorical about the high price of eggs in America. The ongoing avian flu has reduced the supply of eggs, and the demand for eggs has remained inelastic.Its possible that egg prices will continue to rise if we cant get the bird flu under control, but that doesnt mean youre stuck paying through the nose for your eggs. Several websites offer price trackers and coupons for eggs, and there are a number of substitutes that can re-create eggy properties for your baking and other recipesand dabbling with some vegan recipes can help you avoid the need for eggs altogether.