Beef is cheaper than eggs by one key measure for first time since the '80s
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The egg crisis is getting so acute, that it's almost a better deal to have a burger for breakfast than an omelette.
Why it matters: President Trump campaigned on lowering Americans' grocery prices — but in the early days of his administration, it's getting harder, not easier, to affordably feed a family a nutritious meal.
The big picture: For at least the last 40 years, in terms of price per gram of protein content, it's generally been cheaper to feed people an egg than many other protein sources, like beef.
- Not so much anymore.
By the numbers: Axios analyzed 493 months of CPI data, going back to January 1984, to calculate the cost per gram of protein content for a dozen eggs and a pound of ground beef.
- Eggs have always been the just slightly cheaper of the two — until Wednesday, when January 2025 CPI data came out and the lines crossed for the first time.
- One gram of protein from an egg now costs about half a cent more than the same from ground beef. That's based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculations of U.S. city average prices and industry average measures of protein content for large grade A eggs and 100% ground beef.
- The price of eggs has soared over recent months to record highs as the bird flu pandemic ravages flocks and crimps supply.
Reality check: The odds anyone will start feeding their kids a morning burger instead of scrambled eggs, or walking around the grocery store making protein value tables, are almost nil.
- The comparison speaks to a broader point, though — eggs keep getting more expensive, with little relief in sight, and families that are equally cost-conscious and nutrition-conscious may be seeking alternatives.
- There's a reason Google searches for "egg substitute" have nearly doubled over the last year.
What they're saying: The American Egg Board, the industry's marketing arm, declined to comment on the challenge of marketing eggs in such a high-cost environment.
- The USDA's weekly Egg Markets Overview, which late last year continued to point to eggs as a relatively inexpensive source of protein, of late hasn't made that claim.
