Being a good egg

It’s Easter Sunday on April 4, and even if the bunny does not bring any eggs for you, we are going to roll out a few egg-centric facts.

U.S. of EggAccording to the United Egg Producers of America, annual per capita consumption of eggs has increased 15% in the past 20 years. In 2020, per capita consumption was 286 eggs a year, slightly less than 2019 due to decreased production due to COVID-19 related issues.

Housing environmentsAccording to the United Egg Producers, the number of hens housed in conventional cage environments is decreasing as some egg producers and retailers, food service providers and food manufacturers transition to cage-free eggs.

At the end of 2020, 28% of all hens were in cage-free production, up from 14% in 2016 and 4% in 2010.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, approximately 66% of U.S. hens must be in cage-free production by 2026 to meet projected demand.

As of March 2021, organic and cage-free shell egg production accounted for 29.3% (96.1 million hens) of the current table egg layer flock. Of this, 6.8% are organic (22.3 million hens) and 22.5% are non-organic cage-free (73.8 million hens).

California law requires a 5-by-12-foot coop to have no more than 60 chickens. That is equal to 1 square foot per chicken.

Top states

The five largest shell egg-producing states are home to approximately 44% of all laying hens in the U.S., and the Top 10 states comprise 63% of egg production. Most are in the Midwest due to cheaper feed costs.Here are the Top 10 states with the most laying hens in 2020:

1. Iowa2. Ohio3. Indiana4. Pennsylvania5. Texas6. Georgia7. Arkansas8. North Carolina9. Michigan10. California

Cool customThe U.S., Japan, Australia and Scandinavian countries tend to refrigerate eggs. In the 1970s, American producers perfected egg-washing machines with the intent of preventing bacterial outbreaks.

On average …

According to the United Egg Producers, on average in 2020 each laying hen produced 296 eggs per year. Up from 264 eggs per year in 2000. The increased productivity of hens is due to improved health and disease prevention, nutrition, genetics and flock management, it said.

Backyard birds

If you have chickens in your yard, you might want to consider signing up for the California Backyard Poultry Census by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and Cooperative Extension. Those who sign up for the survey can get email alerts for avian influenza outbreaks and other health-related matters.

Counties and municipalities in California have varied regulations for backyard chickens regarding the number allowed, size of their coop and manure disposal.

Good sources for information are local animal control agencies and backyardchickens.com.

How do you like it?

How people like their eggs cooked by state based on a eatthis.com survey of data on Yelp. Yelp scanned all the types of egg dishes that were mentioned in its reviews in all 50 states. It looked for the egg type that was most disproportionately popular among Yelp users in each state, compared to the U.S. overall. Analysts focused on a few keywords for eggs: egg sandwich, fried egg, huevos rancheros, omelet, frittata, scrambled eggs.

Sources: USDA, UC Davis, Backyardchickens.com, American Egg Board, Humane Society, United Egg Producers, eatthis.com

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