I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten at McDonalds in the last several years. So at first the “all day breakfast” news didn’t phase me. But according to The Consumerist, McD’s needs so many eggs that it could exacerbate the egg shortage and drive up prices!
Yes, McD’s is that big of a buyer. Other restaurants are cutting back on their egg dishes and raising prices, and there’s legitimate concern that eggs may shoot past $6.00/dozen in the grocery store. McDonalds is just that huge, and has that much buying power, that pricing and scarcity is less of an issue for them.
For anyone who doesn’t watch eggs closely, the avian flu has sadly killed a tremendous number of chickens and turkeys, and it’s causing a huge shortage in egg shipments (it is also rumored that this may cause issues into Thanksgiving with turkeys.) Our local grocery store has had a sign up for the whole summer apologizing for egg prices and explaining the egg shortage. So McDonalds moving forwards with all-day breakfast is a huge blow to a tight market.
Personally, it will take a lot to get me to stop buying eggs (I can personally go through more than a dozen in a week). But don’t worry, if you crave eggs and don’t want to pay up at the store, there’s always an Egg McMuffin available all day!